Restoration
by KiMiKi-YuMiKa
Summary: Lee comes across a girl with a strange connection to Aang. Did she just airbend? Read to find out. Sorry summary is so short but I can't reveal too much. Reviews are welcome!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Restoration 

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: the last airbender but I do own any characters I create.

Large ominous dark clouds drifted across the night sky as a cool breeze blew through the tall evergreen trees. As a cloud blotted out the moon's gaze, a dark figure in a mask dashed towards a large covered cart heading for a Fire nation fortress. Before the cloud passed, the mysterious figure had vanished as quickly as it had appeared from the woods.

Scene change --------- Scene change -------- Scene change

Near the rear of a large holding cell, was a raised platform with two pillars parallel to each other. Between these two pillars was chained a girl who had dark auburn red hair that fell about her shoulders in messy clumps. As the sound of a sharp crack of the whip was heard, the girl would breathe in sharply. Standing next to the Fire nation soldier, who was administering the torture, was the great Commander Zhang.

"I will ask one last time," Zhang began sternly, "what do you know about the Avatar's plans to attack the Fire nation capital?" Another crack of the whip echoed off the walls.

"Your better off talking to a deaf mute," replied the girl mockingly.

"It seems that you have not grasped the situation which you are in," said Zhang. Zhang turned to the soldier next to him saying, "Kanji, give this arrogant waterbender another 15 lashings for good measure." Zhang walked around the platform and faced the girl. Looking at her square in the eye, Zhang smugly said, "Since you think of us as…," Zhang averted his gaze upward while placing his index finger on his chin, "how did you put it so eloquently…ahhh yes…'fire nation pigs', I am sure you won't mind me saving you from eating fire nation food for another day." Zhang stood, turned, and proceeded towards the door at the other end of the room. When Zhang reached the door and started to open it, he turned slightly smirking. "Until tomorrow." He added with a wave of his hand.

As Kanji finished with the prisoner's daily "treatment", he rolled up the whip and walked around the platform so that he now stood before the girl.

"You don't scream or whimper like the other prisoners." Kanji said matter-of-factly.

The girl raised her head so that her long auburn hair fell away revealing a glaring pair of hazel eyes looking straight at Kanji. Kanji jumped slightly, but he quickly returned the glare showing that he was not afraid of her.

The girl said mockingly, "Yah. Think you're a real tough guy. You're probably one of those guys who flexes in the mirror at yourself. If my arms and legs weren't chained, I would..."

But before she could finish, Kanji butted in replying, "You'd do what! Throw some girly punches."

"No, I would give you an unforgettable flight back to your maker." The girl replied in a dark tone.

Kanji just let out a chuckle as he turned to leave knowing that this pathetic girl could do nothing since she did not have any access to her element. The sound of Kanji's laughter eerily bounced off the walls. When Kanji was about a few meters from the door, the girl smirked asking, "Want some help getting out of here faster?" Kanji let out another laugh, but before he knew what hit him, a gust of wind came up behind him propelling him towards the door. Kanji collided into the wall landing beside the door. As Kanji was slowly getting up, it was the girl's turn to laugh. In between her laughter, Kanji heard the girl saying, "And that's…for the…extra 15…lashings!"

The soldier hastily exited the room. A dull click of the key resounded off the walls signaling that, once again, she was alone.

"I wonder how long I can keep my strength up. I've got to find a way to get out of here. But no matter what happens, I won't betray a friend. I won't betray Aang." The girl murmured to herself as she sorrowfully gazed down at the floor, which was speckled with her blood.

Next Scene-----Next Scene-----Next Scene-----Next Scene-----Next Scene-----Next Scene

Commander Zhang busied himself with the menial affairs involving his station at the fortress. One of which was paperwork, which was never really his favorite.

"I swear whoever thought that writing every detail down was important, must have had nothing else better to do." Zhang grumpily spoke to himself as he looked over the reports from the surrounding Fire nation colonies in the Earth kingdom. A soft rapping came from the door across from Zhang's desk. Zhang's eyebrows furrowed even more in irritation at this sudden disturbance. Zhang whispered to himself, "What could be so important at this late hour?" The person knocked a bit louder the second time.

"Yes! Come in!" Zhang angrily shouted. The door opened hesitantly as Zhang's manservant peaked his head in. In seeing that his master was not going to throw a fireball at him, the manservant ventured further into the room, opening the door wider.

"Commander Zhang, Kanji has an urgent report to make. Would you like to see him now?", the manservant said.

"Unless the girl has escaped or is willing to talk, then I don't want to be disturbed until morning. Have Kanji write up a report about it and give it to me in the morning. Do I make myself clear?" Zhang sternly replied.

The manservant bowed low, saying, "As you wish, commander." The door closed with a soft latching sound. Waiting a few moments, Zhang let out a sigh saying, "Finally, I have some peace and quite." Zhang raised a hot cup of jasmine tea to his lips and breathed in the calming aroma.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender…but I do own any characters that I create.

Yumika: Well, here is the second installment. It's much longer than the first but don't get used to this so soon. I can't promise anything. Well, without further ado…

Restoration

Chapter 2

The auburn haired girl tried to get some rest, but it was rather hard when she had her arms chained at shoulder-height. To sleep, she would just hang by the chains and shut her eyes. As the girl was just about to fall asleep, a shout and a thud were heard coming from the other side of the door. She quickly stood up. Her heart started to race, and adrenaline began to coarse through her veins. A rattling of a key and the soft click of the lock was heard before the door opened, and a tall figure stood dressed all in black and wore a devilish mask painted in white and blue colors. The intruder rushed towards the girl brandishing two broad swords. The girl shut her eyes and turned slightly away bracing for anything, anything except her arms dropping to her sides. She quickly opened her eyes and lifted her hands observing that her chains were cut on both her arms and legs. The girl looked back at the masked figure stunned at what was happening. Before the girl fully comprehended the situation, the cuffs on her wrists and ankles fell away with load clank noises. For once in a long time, the girl was speechless. Apparently, the masked figure did not share the same idea of just standing around like a dumb person.

"We better get moving." A husky voice came from under the mask. The girl nodded, hastily following her savior out of the room. The girl glanced back at the lonely pillars and faced forward again with a smile on her face. She was finally getting out of this 'hell'.

As they began to turn around a corner, the echo of approaching fire nation guards could be heard. The masked mystery shot out a hand signaling to stop and back up. The girl and her fellow escapee stood with their backs against the wall listening intently to see if the soldiers would turn off somewhere.

"Isn't there another way to get out of here?", the girl whispered to the stout warrior next to her. "No. Now be quite." The person whispered back harshly. The girl cringed inwardly.

But lady luck was not on their side today. The soldiers' voices became increasingly louder. The girl turned her head towards the masked person with a questioning face.

"Can you fight?", whispered the person next to her. "Yes." She replied back.

"Ok, but not until I engage them first." She nodded in reply.

It felt like eternity before the soldiers were almost upon them. The figure next to her seemed to take a long, calming breath before jumping in front of the group of soldiers with his swords raised horizontally parallel to each other in a defensive stance. The auburn haired girl took a deep breath and revealed herself as well. The masked figure did not hesitate any longer and gracefully maneuvered the swords, bringing down any soldier that got in his way. One soldier got past the masked warrior and lunged with his spear towards the girl. She easily side stepped the spear and grabbed it tightly with her left hand. With her right hand, she pushed back the attacking soldier with a strong wind stream. The soldier let go of the spear and flew back seven feet hitting another soldier to the ground. The girl grinned at her accomplishment and broke the spear head off the shaft making a wooden staff.

"Now I can do some major damage. Let's try something new." She said more to herself than to anyone else.

More soldiers came rushing up the hallway after hearing the clash of swords and spears. The girl came running up to the side of the masked warrior and jumped coming down swinging the staff down toward the floor. A wave of wind tore down the hall knocking the soldiers up against the walls stunning them long enough for the warrior and the girl to run past them. They turned down the hall, which was opposite the one that the additional soldiers had come from, and continued to run until the masked person brought her to what looked like a storage room.

"Umm…I don't know about you, but I want to get out of here." The airbender said, thinking that they made a wrong turn somewhere.

"That's exactly what we are going to do." The warrior replied signaling for her to come to where he was standing at the edge of a water channel. "The fortress is supplied by sending barrels along the water channel that runs under the tower. We are going to swim our way out of here." The warrior quickly sheathed his swords and cranked a lever lifting the gate of the water channel leading out of the base of the Tower. The warrior then slipped quietly into the water. The girl placed her staff in an inconspicuous place among the barrels and looked down only to face the devilish mask.

"Alright, but this better not be too long of a swim." She said in an apprehensive tone as she slipped into the water. When her back made contact with the water, the young girl let out a soft hiss in pain. At this, the warrior turned around saying, "What's the matter now?"

Not liking the tone this person was taking with her, the girl whispered sarcastically, "Oh, they only whipped me a few times." The warrior looked down at the water, and the girl followed the person's gaze to find that the flowing water around her carried a slight pink tint.

"Take a deep breath." was the last thing the masked warrior said before disappearing under the water. The girl hastily followed suite. It took awhile for the girl's eyes to adjust to the darkness of the water. They left the storage area and were swimming through a tunnel of some sort. All seemed to be going well until the girl bumped into the back of the warrior. She started to panic as she noticed bars were blocking their escape. They were too far in the tunnel to turn around. 'Well, this was great planning', the girl thought to herself. The bars, which the warrior was grasping onto, began to glow red hot and started to bend easily creating a small opening. The warrior slipped through and turned to make sure the girl was following. Together they hastily swam to the surface for much needed air. They surfaced behind a large slab of rock jutting out of the side of the Tower. The girl held onto the rock until she was able to catch her breath trying to ignore the dull pain coming from her back. Turning to the warrior and nodding that she was alright, the warrior checked for any patrolling guards. Seeing none, they swam for the shore. As the girl was trying to lift herself out of the water, she noticed that the adrenaline was wearing off, and the lack of food and sleep was taking its toll on her body. The young airbender struggled to lift herself, but her arms were too weak to support her weight; she ended up falling back into the water. The girl looked up to see that a hand was offered to her by the masked warrior, and she gladly accepted it. The warrior grasped the girl by her forearm and hoisted the girl out of the water. As the warrior was releasing the girl's arm, the girl grabbed onto the warrior's hand firmly, preventing the person from walking away.

She whispered, "Please tell me your name?" The masked warrior turned and replied curtly, "Lee." Before the girl could say another word, Lee pulled the girl in the direction of the wall where a rope was dangling from the top of the fortress' first inner wall. Lee hastily climbed up first followed by the girl. As he reached the top, Lee checked that no guards had seen them and started to pull the girl the rest of the way up the wall. Just then the alarm bell sounded and shouts rang out "The prisoner is escaping!!!" Lee was able to get the girl to the top before Fire nation soldiers started to close in on both sides. The airbender assumed a fighting stance with her left hand down near her waist and her right arm stretched out with her palm facing outward. Lee quickly unsheathed his broad swords taking a wide stance with his legs, back to back with the girl.

As the soldiers realized that they were facing the legendary "Blue Spirit," they backed up slightly in fear as the "Blue Spirit" descended upon them. First, Lee spun around one guard's spear and split the spear of another guard. Lee performed combinations of parries, sword thrusts, and slashes all in simple fluid movements. The airbender was having a little more difficult time with the opponents on her side. She did not have a weapon, so she did the second best thing, improvise. The airbender ducked, dodging a spear thrust of one guard while performing a low sweeping kick creating an arc of wind that knocked the soldiers off their feet. The girl picked up the spear of the guard who attacked her. Breaking off the tip of her second captured spear, the girl made another staff for herself. The guards began to notice that the young girl was beginning to tire and was panting, so they attacked quickly with various fire techniques one after the other to tire her faster. Their plan was working as the airbender tried to keep up with parrying each guard's attack by twirling her staff in front of her. However, they pushed the young girl's patience too far, and she sucked in a great amount of air only to blow it back out in an enormous gust of wind, knocking all the guards back while pushing some off the wall.

"We got to keep moving!" The girl said frantically as she quickly turned and swung the staff in a "u" shape propelling Lee up high into the air towards the second inner wall. The "Blue Spirit" seemed to have little trouble landing atop the wall rolling as he landed. He then prepared himself for an attack from either side. The young airbender followed Lee moments later huffing from the sudden exertion and used her staff as a support. Lee stood protectively by the girl holding one sword to face the guards on his right and the other sword lifted towards the guards on his left.

"If you have any bright ideas, now is the time to use them." The girl said in a desperate tone. Without saying a word, Lee sheathed his swords into a single sheath which was strapped to his back, turned, grabbed the girl's arm, and jumped off the other side of the wall. The airbender caught on quickly, let go of her staff, and created an air bubble that slowed their fall and let them land softly on the ground. But this was only the beginning of their problems as soldiers poured out from everywhere. To the Fire nation soldiers' dismay the dark clouds began to pour rain down in bucketfuls making fire techniques almost useless. On the other hand, the girl merely grinned mischievously at their sudden change in luck.

"Follow my lead." The waterbender said to Lee. To Lee's further amazement the girl began to effortlessly bend the water. The girl prepared a path through the soldiers using mostly a water whip and large streams of water controlled by her arms. Lee acted as a vanguard by protecting the girl's back from spears, arrows, and close range fire attacks. When they had finally reached the outer gate, the waterbender stopped, trying to figure out a way to open the gate, but suddenly she heard a familiar voice, which caused her to shudder in fear.

"Stupid girl, you think your fancy tricks will help you to escape with your newfound friend, though your ability to bend water **and** air is amazing." Zhang shifted his gaze to Lee. "Admiral Zhao may have underestimated you but I won't make that same mistake. Soldiers, I order that you take both of them, alive **or** dead."

"Ha, you already made a mistake Zhang. The one who you are underestimating is me." The young waterbender smirked.

She quickly waterbended the soldiers along with Commander Zhang back with a wave of water and then propelled Lee and herself quickly up and over the outer wall with water. Once again the young girl created an air bubble to cushion their swift decent on the other side of the outer wall. They both bolted off towards the woods, but a flurry of arrows started to pierce the ground around them. The girl stopped long enough to hastily form a large, thick ice wall. It had been raining for some time, and the ground was starting to get slippery and mushy causing Lee and the girl to slip and stubble a few times before they made it safely into the dense woods.

Lee and the girl both stopped to rest without saying a word. The waterbender did not seem to care where she rested; she collapsed in the spot she stopped at, breathing quite heavily, and her arms were shaking with fatigue and cold. Lee, on the other hand, picked a semi-dry log to sit on.

"Are you going to be well enough to travel in a few moments?" Lee questioned as he took off his mask because it was making it difficult for him to catch his breath.

"I think so, but I don't think I can travel too far of a distance." The girl said hesitantly looking up from where she was sitting on the leaf-covered ground. She did not see Lee's scar since it was so dark because the full moon was blotted out by the rain clouds and they were sitting under large evergreen trees.

"I guess I can return the favor and tell you my name since we are not being chased by Fire nation soldiers, _yet_." The girl said. To which Lee quickly replied, "Well, that didn't stop you."

"You do have a point. Anyways, my name is Hana…oh, and thank you for breaking me out of prison," Hana said with a warm smile. Lee put back on his mask, so that if they should encounter any more Fire nation soldiers then they would not recognize him.

"We better start moving to get a greater distance between us and**them**." Lee said as he rose and walked over to Hana's side. "Alright," said Hana as she slowly got up off the ground, "Would you like me to cover our tracks?"

"No, it's raining hard enough, and the watch guards probably saw in what direction we ran." Lee replied matter-a-factly. Hana nodded being too tired to reply. The pair slowly walked through the dense trees without saying another word.

Ok, don't throw fireballs or rocks at me. I have a good explanation for Hana being able to bend more than one element. But I can't tell you now because it would spoil the story for you. Keep reading and reviewing. I would like critiquing, especially on the action scenes. Were they confusing? Not enough action? Please let me know how I did with it. Thanks. I won't be updating until next year. Enjoy the holiday season. Yumika


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar yadda yadda yadda. [You know the drill

This chapter is dedicated to Tylerthewaterbender2892, my first reviewer. Thank you, Tyler.

Restoration

Chapter 3

The rain was still pouring hard enough to make it through the dense tree branches to feel like a shower to the fugitives below. As Hana was walking along, she noticed an unusually tall shrub with large sturdy leaves. Hana paused by this tall shrub growing along a tree trunk. Lee stopped and turned around wondering why Hana stopped suddenly. What he saw was Hana positioning the leaves to catch the rain and channel it down from leaf to leaf forming a steady stream of water. Hana cocked her head backwards slightly to catch the rain water in her mouth.

After swallowing several mouthfuls, Hana turned to Lee saying, "Are you thirsty?" Lee hesitated knowing that if he was going to drink the water, then he would have to remove his mask and arouse questions about his scar.

Hana noticed Lee's hesitation and said, "Are you worried about me seeing your face? If so, I can turn around if it makes you feel comfortable. I know you must be thirsty after…all that."

After a short pause, Lee finally replied, "Actually it would be better if you did not see my face right now."

"Alright." Hana replied taking a few steps back from the shrub and turned around.

Lee took the mask off and walked up to the shrub taking a few mouthfuls of water. Lee remarked, "That's a neat trick. Where did you learn it?" He went to take a few more mouthfuls of water.

Hana replied, "I just thought of it right now, out of necessity, I guess."

After replacing his mask, Lee said, "You can turn around now." Hana turned around and walked up to the shrub taking a few more mouthfuls of water before continuing after Lee down the deer path.

After what seemed like hours, the unrelenting rain had turned into a soft drizzle, and the clouds started to thin out. Making their way along the deer path through the sea of giant trees, Lee and Hana finally came to a large field hemmed in by the forest.

"The quickest way to shelter is across this field." Lee said as he stopped at the edge of the forest. Hana did not seem to notice that Lee had stopped, and she kept walking parting the tall grass as she entered the meadow. Lee starred at Hana's back in shock. There was a large tare, which ran down the middle of the back of her olive green dress, and Lee was even more shocked by both the multitude of wounds, some of which were bleeding, and the bruises on the exposed part of her back.

"We can rest for a short time if you need to." Lee said in a soft manner.

Hana paused and turned saying, "If I stop now, I know that I won't be able to get back up. It's best that I keep moving. We need to get to a dry place." Hana turned back around and resumed walking steadily through the grassy ocean. Lee silently followed Hana walking at a quicker pace to catch up with her, which did not take long.

The drizzle finally dissipated, and the clouds parted revealing a bright, full moon. The soft light from the moon illuminated the landscape revealing the two travelers, who were half way across the meadow with the masked warrior leading.

Lee noticed that Hana was starting to walk slower. Suddenly, Lee heard a sneeze come from behind followed by coughing. Hana stopped and was hunched over trying to catch her breath. Once she had recovered from her coughing fit, Hana resumed walking, but shortly, another coughing fit consumed her. Lee turned around with a concerned expression, but Hana could not see it because he was still wearing his mask. Hana once again began to breathe steadily while rubbing her arms trying to keep warm.

Lee walked up to Hana and turned with her on his right so that she could not see the scar. Hana looked at Lee with a blank expression not knowing what he wanted or what he was going to do. Without saying a word, Lee took Hana's left arm and placed it across his shoulders. Lee then put his right arm around her waist so as to not aggravate any of Hana's wounds on her upper and mid-lower back. Hana turned away blushing slightly by this close contact with a guy, whom she had only known for maybe a few hours. However, Hana did not mind the unusual warmth that emanated off of Lee, because it was helping her to keep warm.

Lee didn't take notice of Hana blushing and said, "There is some shelter just ahead. It won't be too long before we get there." They continued to walk together parting the grass as they went. Lee would help Hana as a support when she periodically had coughing fits.

As the sky began to lighten with warm hues of yellow and red, Lee and Hana finally made their way across the meadow and entered the darkness of the trees once again.

Looking around at the enormous trunks of countless red oak trees, Hana wearily said, "Wow, déjà vu." in a joking manner. Lee let a soft chuckle escape.

"Ah, the masked mystery laughs." Hana said with a smirk. At that moment Hana caught sight of a bush with large, blue berries hanging on its branches. Pointing to it, Hana asked, "Are those edible?"

After getting over how sporadic this girl was. Lee inspected the plant in question more closely and replied, "No, those are poisonous gooseberries." They walked a little further into the woods. Lee halted suddenly, and Hana turned her gaze and was taken aback realizing that they were in front of a large cave with numerous, long vines covering the entrance.

"I didn't even notice this cave until you stopped in front of it." Hana said surprised.

"Ya, that's why it's perfect for us to stay here until you are ready to travel again," Lee replied. Lee lifted some of the vines as they passed into the cave. Hana looked around finding the cave to be shallow but roomy enough for two people, but most importantly it was dry. Lee led Hana over to a smooth boulder and set her down. Hana placed her right hand on the boulder as a support as she sat on the boulder. Lee walked over to one corner of the cave and picked up a large bundle, which was tightly wrapped in dark cloth and tide with a leather cord. Lee untied the knot and unwrapped the bundle revealing two sets of dry clothes and two blankets. Taking one set of dry clothes, Lee walked over to Hana handing it to her saying, "Here put these on while I go gather wood for the fire."

"Thank you." was all Hana could say before Lee vanished through the wall of vines. Hana looked down inspecting the clothing further. She could tell it was native Earth Kingdom clothes. A simple long-sleeved, forest-green robe, which was lined with a wide, yellow band, accompanied with a pair of dark brown pants. Hana carefully took off her dress and leather shoes trying not to move her back too much. Hana's dress was still damp so she waterbended the water out of the dress. She then ripped strips of dry, olive green fabric off her old dress. Using these strips of cloth, Hana replaced the loose wrappings about her chest and put extra wrappings on to cover the rest of her torn skin on her back. Once Hana had finished doing that, she took off her muddy black pants and slipped on the dark brown pants and tied the string about her waist. Next, Hana put on the new robe and fitted the frog button closures[the kind you see on Chinese clothing which stretched from the collar down to her waist. The robe was a little big for her since she had to roll up the sleeves, otherwise, they would cover her hands completely. Lastly, Hana tied a brown sash about her waist overtop the robe, which had slits on either side that ran up to the middle of her thighs. 'Well he got the pants right, but the robe is a little big.' Hana said to herself as she felt a little warmer with dry clothes on. But she shivered as cold chills ran throughout her body from the cold, damp early morning air. Hana draped her damp black pants and the remains of her old dress over a boulder and bended the water out of her old pants and shoes. Lee had not returned yet, so Hana thought it best to keep moving to keep warm until a fire was built. Hana started looking about the cave for some nice sized stones to make a fire pit. She found a few scattered about the cave, but she needed a few more to finish the circle. The airbender stuck her head out of the cave checking to see if Lee was returning. Not seeing Lee anywhere in sight, Hana walked about the cave easily finding the rest of the stones she needed since the cave was surrounded by moss covered stones and large boulders. Hana finished making the fire pit. Running her fingers through her hair lost in thought, Hana remembered that she had not brushed her hair in a few days. Hana sat down on the same boulder as before and ran her fingers through her dark auburn hair trying to get most of the knots out. Hana began to get worried since Lee had not returned yet, so she walked over to the entrance of the cave. As Hana lifted the vines to leave, she came face to face with the blue and white devil face of her warrior companion.

Hana gasped and said, "Geez don't scare me like that." Lee wordlessly walked around her carrying firewood and started to build the fire. Hana stood looking at Lee puzzled at why he was acting so distant even for a stranger. Hana shrugged off the thought with 'maybe that's just how he is, mind as well not pry.'

"Well, since your busy doing that, I am going to get some bedding for us." Hana said from the entrance of the cave.

"There's some moss growing behind the cave." Lee replied. "Alright, thanks." Hana said.

While Hana left to gather some moss to use as bedding, Lee quickly got the fire going by using a small fire blast. Hana returned shortly with two bundles of moss.

"Wow, that did not take you long to get a roaring fire going." Hana said in amazement. Hana walked over to Lee to hand him his bundle of moss. But, before Lee took the moss from her, Hana noticed that Lee had burn marks on the palms of his outstretched hands and along the middle of his fingers.

"Your hands are burned. Did you firebend those bars in the water tunnel?" Hana asked.

"Yes, but my hands will be fine, so don't worry about it." Lee replied curtly. Hana was taken aback a little by Lee's defensive stance towards her, and she set up her bed of moss on the other side of the fire across from Lee.

"If you're a firebender, then why did you help me to escape from a Fire Nation prison? Are you against the war?" Hana asked.

"I don't want to talk about it. It's complicated." Lee replied harshly. Hana grew frustrated at Lee's stubbornness and decided to go take a walk before she said something she would regret later.

"Well, if you don't mind, I am going to find some herbs and water." Hana said leaving the cave before Lee could respond.

Lee sighed thinking to himself 'I shouldn't have taken it out on her. It's not her fault that she was not the person I was looking for. I just need some rest.' Lee unrolled the moss, changed into dry clothes, and laid out his black outfit to dry. Lee placed the mask on the ground next to his mossy bed. Sitting on the moss bedding, Lee added more wood to the fire and grabbed his blanket before lying down to rest. Lee did not close his eyes but merely starred at the roof of the cave, lost in thought about what he was going to do next.

A short time passed, and Hana returned bearing a bundle, consisting of yellow flowers and a plant with large leaves and small purple flowers, and a medium-sized, round stone. Hana avoided Lee's gaze and went over to a boulder that was flat and fairly level. She placed the flowers on the boulder and began crushing the flowers and large leaves from the one plant. Hana then took the salve formed and transferred some to a leaf. Hana walked over to her torn dress and ripped two long strips of cloth. By now Lee was sitting up, taking interest in what she was doing while seeming to be preoccupied with tending the fire. Hana took the leaf with the salve on it and the strips of cloth and walked around the fire, finally, sitting down beside Lee.

"This is crushed comfrey and calendula flower. It will help disinfect and heal your burned hands. Here, give me your hand." Hana said.

Lee stopped what he was doing and turned to Hana. "I told you. I'm fine." Lee replied giving Hana a hard gaze so she would leave him alone. Hana softly gasped as she finally noticed the large burn mark on the left side of his face, since Lee had turned to face her. Hana thought better then to ask probing questions and so continued to try and get Lee to let her help him.

"Stop trying to be a tough guy and give me your damn hand." Hana said loudly. When Lee stayed silent starring at the fire, Hana reached out and grabbed Lee's right hand. This got Lee's full attention.

"What do you think your doing?!" Lee shouted.

"Helping you. What's it look like." Hana replied sarcastically. Lee jerked his hand out of Hana's grasp, narrowing his eyes at her in warning to leave him alone.

"If you don't treat those burns soon, then their going to leave scars like the one on your…" Hana abruptly stopped realizing her mistake. Lee quickly got up close to Hana's face and spoke in a dark tone, "Don't talk about something you know nothing about." Hana's expression was one caught between showing shock and hurt.

Hana placed the leaf with the salve on it and the strips of cloth beside Lee and walked away saying in a slightly pleading tone, "If you don't want someone else's help, then please, at least, help yourself." Hana walked over to her side of the fire and gathered up the moss bedding taking it to the back of the cave away from the fire. Lee followed her movement while retaining the hard expression on his face. Hana grabbed the blanket Lee had given her off a boulder and draped the blanket around her before lying on her stomach. Resting the side of her head on her arms, which were crossed in front of her on the moss, Hana tried to relax and fall asleep. But she could still feel the tension in the air. Lee looked over to the strips of cloth and the salve lying next to him softening his angry expression but returned his gaze back to the fire feeling annoyed and angry.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

Yumika: I hope that you liked this chapter. As always, please review. I appreciate your feedback. I got the idea of using plant leaves to form sort of a water channel from the movie "First Knight". If you have seen this movie then you know what I am talking about. From the previous chapter, I got the idea of the water channel under the fortress from "The Hobbit". Just thought I would put that in here as fun info. Well, anyways, I will try to update soon [probably in two weeks. Critiquing the chapters does take up most of my time so sorry if the updates are far and few between, but that's how I write. I ask you to please bear with me.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender. (I do own any characters I create.)

Without further ado…

Restoration

Chapter 4

Lee had fallen into a fitful sleep, leaning back against the cave wall. But his slumber was interrupted when Hana started coughing and gasping in between coughs as if each cough stole all the air she had. Lee opened his left eye to see that Hana was lying on her side curled up under the blanket facing the fire. Lee closed his eye once more to get a little more sleep, but something inside him wouldn't let him fall back asleep. Frustrated, Lee sat up irritated, added more wood to the waning fire, and walked over to Hana's sleeping form. He knelt beside Hana extending his hand out to touch her shoulder but halted when Hana shifted in her sleep mumbling something inaudible. After Hana was still again, Lee gently took hold of Hana's shoulder and shook her gently. Hana's eyes scrunched as she moaned trying to curl up into a tighter ball.

Lee shook Hana's shoulder again but a little less gently this time, saying, "Come on. It's warmer by the fire." At the word "warmer," Hana woke up and looked up at Lee, replying softly, "Alright."

Hana slowly got up trying to move with her stiff back. Seeing that he got her to start moving, Lee returned to his spot beside the fire trying to coax the flames to grow bigger. Hana slowly gathered up her mat of moss and blanket and moved to her original spot by the fire. Hana laid out her moss once again, wrapped the blanket around her, and lay down on her side facing the fire. As Hana began to fall back asleep, Lee got up, grabbed his sheath, and left the cave to find some food, because he knew that when Hana woke up, she would be hungry.

---------------Time lapse-------------------

"STOP!" cried Hana desperately as she sat up with a start. Hana took a look around her and sighed in relief that it was just a dream, and she was safe in the cave.

"Since I'm awake, mind as well get up." Hana said aloud to herself as she began to stand up and stretch. "Ouch. Damn." Hana cursed as she felt a scab rip or maybe two. 'Maybe that's not a good idea' Hana said to herself and stopped stretching. The young waterbender stepped out of the cave into the bright sunshine.

"Ah, sun, how I've missed you." Hana said as she closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sun so that the rays could spread kisses over her face. After relishing in the sun's warmth, Hana opened her eyes and noticed that the sun was close to the ten o'clock position. 'Wow, I got about seven hours of sleep in one shot.' Hana said to herself. She made her way over to the stream, which was a few minute walk from the cave. Walking up to the edge of the stream, Hana waterbended a small amount of water up into her mouth and took a drink. Looking back to the stream, Hana noticed a large fish swimming upstream. 'That fish looks good.' Hana thought as she placed a hand on her growling stomach. Hana easily bended the water around the fish and lifted it out of the water. The fish floated towards Hana and finally rested in her hands with the water falling to the ground. 'Wow, lunch is served. That was too easy.' Hana laughed inwardly and smiled in accomplishment looking down at the struggling fish in her hands. The waterbender made her way back to the cave stopping along the way to pick up a stick to skewer the fish on. As Hana neared the cave, she smelled roasting flesh. 'Smells like Lee had a little luck himself.' Hana thought to herself as she entered the cave. Lee did have a little luck as he sat by the fire cooking a skinned rabbit-squirrel on a wooden spit.

"There you are. Where did you run off to this time?" Lee said roughly.

Hana took no notice of his tone and simply replied, "Can't you tell?", as she held up the fish on the stick.

"Hn. Well, don't leave without telling me where you are going. The Fire Nation is probably still trying to find us." Lee said sounding more irritated.

"Alright." Hana said casually as if she didn't notice Lee fuming at her nonchalant answers.

Hana sat on her mat of moss and stabbed the stick into the soft ground at an angle so the fish was immersed in the flames. Lee turned to his side picking up something next to him. Reaching around the fire, Lee handed Hana a leaf full of red berries. After Hana took the leaf from Lee, she noticed that his hand was wrapped in the olive green material of her dress.

"How are your hands?" Hana asked.

"They are fine. The salve, which you made, works well." Lee said looking away. Hana sat stunned at what he was saying. 'Is he trying to say thank you?' Hana thought while keeping a straight face.

"I'm glad that it helped. Let me know when you need more salve for those burns." Hana replied. Looking down at the leaf she took from Lee, Hana asked, "What are these?"

"Those are raspberries." Lee replied. Hana tried one. Finding the berry to her liking, Hana devoured the rest of the berries. "Wow, those were good." Hana said picking out the seeds stuck between her teeth. Lee only nodded acknowledging the remark.

"The rabbit-squirrel should be ready in fifteen minutes." Lee said. Hana nodded saying, "Ok. You can try some of the fish if you want."

"I don't like fish that much." Lee replied.

Hana suddenly felt tired and let a yawn escape from her. "Well, let me know when the rabbit-squirrel is done. I'm going to shut my eyes for a few minutes." Hana said lying on her side pulling the blanket over her for extra warmth even though it was almost noon.

"Hana…_Ha_na." Lee said trying to wake Hana up. "Mmhm. I'm up. I'm up." Hana said groggily sitting up.

"Are you hungry?" Lee asked. Hana's stomach growled. Giggling Hana said, "Does _that_ answer your question?" Lee's frown momentarily lifted long enough for Hana to notice, but she kept it to herself.

"Do you want a leg or a piece of the breast?" Lee asked. "Leg, please." Lee cut one off and handed it to Hana. Hana replied, "Thanks", as she took the leg from Lee. Hana sat eating her meager meal as Lee cut a piece of the animal and ate in silence as well.

The rabbit-squirrel did not have a chance against two hungry teenagers, and soon it was picked clean. Hana was still hungry so she borrowed Lee's sword and skinned the fish. Carefully, she cut it into bite size pieces and ate what little of the fish, that she could carve from the skeleton. After cleaning up from their small "feast," Hana turned to Lee saying, "You look tired. I can keep watch for a few hours while you rest."

"Ok." Lee replied lying down on his mat and pulled the blanket up over him. Hana sat on her mat and watched the fire die down. It was already midday so it was starting to get warm in the cave. Hana glanced at Lee's sleeping form. Seeing that Lee was asleep, Hana got up and left the cave. 'I'll be able to keep a better eye on things from higher ground. Now what did Aang say about how he flew up into trees.' Hana thought as she came to stand at the base of a giant sequoia tree looking puzzled. 'Aah, yes, I remember' Hana said to herself as she rocketed into the air spinning between two sequoia trees until she was half way up the tree. Resting on a large branch, Hana took in the beautiful surroundings. Hana scoured the forest floor to make sure that there weren't any Fire Nation soldiers nearby. Seeing none, Hana relaxed a little letting herself drift off into her mind.

'I wonder why Lee is so far from the Fire Nation, alone. I am pretty sure that it has something to do with that scar on his face. It looks like a battle scar. He's probably too stubborn to talk about it. I have to admit he definitely is an unusual person. I hope that he will open up a little bit. Maybe he is so distant because…' This is how Hana's mind wandered as the sun continued to pass across the sky.

As a cool wind blew through the trees, Hana shivered breaking her out of her thoughts. Hana gazed up at the sky amazed at how long she had been sitting up in the tree. 'Wow, I didn't realize the time. Life definitely can get complicated fast, but it's quite an adventure. I wonder where this life will take me next. Don't worry Aang I'm on my way.' Hana rose and checked for Fire Nation soldiers. Seeing none, Hana airbended her way to the forest floor and walked into the cave. Lee was still sleeping soundly. At seeing Lee resting so peacefully, Hana smiled thinking 'he looks so harmless when he's sleeping.' Hana walked over to the boulder, which had the remaining flowers, and began to make more salve for Lee's wounds.

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These couple chapters have been pretty uneventful, but the next one is more intriguing. Zuko starts asking questions. Hmmmm, I wonder what Hana will do or how she will respond.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. I do own any characters I create.

Restoration

Chapter 5: The Inquisition

Lee stirred awaking from a deep sleep. Looking around the cave, he noticed that it was quite dark and Hana was missing. Lee got up and walked out of the cave.

"You're finally awake. I washed your black outfit. You will find it folded near your bed. Did you have a nice rest?" Hana said casually from her spot where she sat up against the cave looking out into the forest.

"Ya. How long have I been asleep?" Lee asked still trying to wake up.

"Well since the sun is starting to set, I would say that you've been asleep for about seven hours." replied Hana. "Umm, sorry if you woke up because you were cold. I don't know how to start a fire without spark rocks."

"Don't worry about it. I'll go start the fire." Lee replied walking back into the cave. Hana followed Lee into the cave sitting down on her mossy mat. Seeing that the wood pile was getting small, Hana rose and said, "I'll go look for more wood before it gets too dark out."

"No, it's alright. We have enough wood to last us until morning." Lee quickly replied before Hana could leave the cave.

"Are you sure?" Hana asked as she stopped at the entrance of the cave.

"Of course I'm sure." Lee answered gruffly while starting the fire with a fire-blast, which was a little larger than he expected.

Hana took no notice and pursued the topic further, "I should gather some more, just to make sure that we have enough. I don't need to go far. I saw some dry wood just outside the cave. I'll be right back." Hana hastily left before Lee could protest any further.

"Fine, do whatever you want." Lee whispered in frustration to himself glaring at the fire.

Hana returned shortly with more fire wood. Lee was lying on his back with his arms behind his head looking up at the roof of the cave still thinking of what he was going to do about Hana. After Hana laid the wood on the wood pile, she walked over to the boulder, where the flowers had been laid, and picked up the salve and two clean strips of cloth. Hana walked back over to Lee and sat down next to him.

"Your hands need new dressings." Hana said in a caring tone. Lee kept his gaze on the roof of the cave as if in deep thought. After a few moments of silence, Hana thought that Lee had not heard her. As Hana was about to ask Lee to change the dressings on his hands, Lee turned his head to look at Hana and asked, "Other than your ability to bend more than one element, why did the Fire Nation capture you?"

"Ummm…well…" Hana hesitated looking away from Lee's piercing gaze and nervously ran her fingers through her long, auburn hair.

"Well, what? Not everyone gets to be kept at a fortress instead of a prison. Why are you so important to the Fire Nation?" Lee said impatiently.

"Well, the Fire Nation did not know that I could bend water **and** air when they captured and imprisoned me. They had heard rumors that there was someone, who could airbend. But they discarded that rumor when they saw me bend water." Hana replied.

"You still didn't answer my question. Why did they imprison you in the fortress?!" Lee asked again impatiently, sitting up slightly on his forearms.

"Since they heard that there was an airbender in the area, the Fire Nation thought I was the avatar or that I was a survivor from one of the air temples. But I am neither one." Hana said, struggling to stay calm under Lee's insistent questioning.

Lee sat up and took a firm hold of Hana's upper arm, saying, "Why are you evading the question?" Hana looked at Lee unsure of what to do. Lee raised his voice saying, "What are you trying to hide?!"

"Please…I don't…I can't tell you." Hana said looking down at the ground.

"Is it because you _do_ have a connection with the avatar?" Lee asked. At this, Hana quickly looked up at Lee shocked.

"How did you…" A defeated expression overtook Hana's face as she looked away from Lee continuing, "Yes, I do know the avatar personally and because of that connection the Fire Nation imprisoned me."

"See, now that wasn't too hard." Lee said mockingly releasing his grip on Hana's arm. Hana looked at Lee hardening her expression.

"How can I trust you?! For all I know, you could be working for the Fire Nation. Befriending me and trying to get me to trust you so that I would tell you information, which the Fire Nation wants." Hana said accusingly. Lee was silent looking down at the bandages on his hands. He seemed to be pondering how to answer her accusations.

"I guess you can't trust me." Lee replied solemnly.

Hana softened her expression saying, "Lee, you need to understand. Since you are a firebender, I can't accept you at face value. I don't want to seem mean or prejudice. I am just being cautious."

"I understand." Lee said in an indifferent tone.

"Well, I want to thank you for breaking me out of prison and for the new clothes. I best be on my way in the morning." Hana said.

"Where are you going to go?" Lee asked looking up.

"I am going to find the nearest village and gather supplies." answered Hana.

"Do you even know _where_ you are going?" Lee asked again.

"Don't you fret. I'll find my way just fine." Hana mockingly replied.

"If you don't know where you're going to go, you can travel with me and my uncle until you do." Lee said.

Hana looked at Lee confused at why he was being kind to her after she had accused him of being a spy. Thinking 'well, at the present, I don't really have an idea of what direction I am heading. It wouldn't hurt to have some company for a short time while traveling', Hana decided that it would be alright to travel with Lee and his uncle.

"Alright. I'll travel with you and your uncle but no more probing questions concerning my imprisonment. Got it?" Hana firmly said.

"Fine, agreed." Lee said a little defeated. There was an uncomfortable silence between the two before Hana broke it.

"So, where is your uncle?" Hana asked.

"He is waiting for us in a cave hidden on the edge of a mountain range." Lee replied.

"Oh, how far are the mountains?" Hana asked.

"It's probably a three day walk, but I have an ostrich horse hidden not far from here. So it will just take a day and a half, maybe two days at most, to get to the cave." Lee explained.

Hana gave Lee a warm smile and asked, "Well, anyway, do you want me to help you change the bandages or do you want to do it yourself?"

"I can do it myself." Lee replied.

"Here." Hana handed Lee the salve and cloth and walked back to her mat.

Hana and Lee did not say another word to each other after their conversation. To Hana, it felt more like an interrogation than a conversation. However, Hana did not let hard feelings hinder her from getting some more blissful sleep; on the other hand, Lee seemed more troubled than he let on. Lee lay awake on his mossy bed until late at night thinking of a reason for the Fire Nation to keep this girl in a high security cell when they did not know that she was an airbender. What information does this girl possess to make the Fire Nation so desperate to have their hands on it? What special connection to the avatar did this girl have? There was definitely something more to this girl, and he was going to find out, even if he had to act nicely to her, which might drive him to the brink of insanity. Zuko would stop at nothing to capture the avatar, so as to have his father's love and restore his honor. Finally, in the early hours of the morning, Lee finally fell asleep from physical and mental exhaustion.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Well, I hope that you liked this week's installment. It probably raised more questions then it did give answers. This isn't a story for the faint of heart. lol I'm getting a little too poetical here, I guess. Since school has started up again for me, I won't be able to update every week like I have been. It will be once every two weeks now because of time constraints with juggling a job and college. Thank you for your patience as always. Please review if you want.


	6. Chapter 6

Kimiki-Yumika here. Boy, this chapter has more action than any of the previous chapters so enjoy :-)

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: Last Airbender.

Restoration

Chapter 6

'Why hadn't they heard the barks of the fire hounds and the heavy footsteps of the komodo rhinos? They should have known that they were overstaying their welcome by hiding in a cave so near to the Fire Nation fortress for over a day. Why didn't they leave as soon as possible?' Hana kept asking herself these questions as she and Lee were surrounded by Fire Nation soldiers. Turning to Lee, Hana asked "What should we do? Surrender or fight?" "I think you already know the answer to that question." Lee said to Hana with a smirk. Yes, Hana knew what she had to do, but it seemed impossible with so many soldiers and their fierce beasts. Hana looked over at Lee once more, and Lee returned her gaze with a reassuring nod. They both faced their enemies and got into their battle stances. Combining forces, Hana and Lee were able to keep the Fire Nation soldiers and their komodo rhinos back, until Commander Zhang appeared. The last thing, which Hana saw, was hot, orange flames enveloping herself and Lee. Then, everything went black. Suddenly out of the darkness came a voice. "Hana wake up. You need to wake up now, young one." Hana recognized that voice, "Roku?" "They are coming. Wake up, Hana."

Hana sat up with a jolt and looked around frantically trying to reassure herself it was just a dream. The fire had died out and the soft beams of the early morning sun pierced through the vines giving the cave an almost dungeon-like look. When Hana's eyes fell upon Lee's sleeping form, she let a sigh of relief escape her. 'Good it was only a dream.' Hana said to herself reassuringly. 'Although, it wouldn't hurt to take a walk down to the stream and have a look about just to make sure.' Hana purposed to herself as she stood up and tried to stretch, but her back was too stiff from all the scabs. Since Hana thought that Lee would want to leave soon after he woke up, Hana folded her blanket and her clean old clothes and placed them on a flat boulder. Since her leather shoes were finally dry from washing them the other day, Hana put them on, because she was going to walk down to the stream. Hana also picked up her mat of moss, which was now dying, and discarded it behind the cave.

While walking down to the stream, Hana admired the beautiful colors from the sunrise streaming through the leaves and the clear sky thinking 'this will be a perfect day to travel'. A short time later, Hana reached the stream. After drinking some water, Hana untied the sash around her waist and removed her robe hanging both on a nearby branch. Hana then sat on a large rock next to the stream and proceeded to unravel the strips of cloth about her lower back being careful not to reopen any wounds. Reaching behind, Hana carefully felt her lower back to feel how the wounds were healing. The skin surrounding the scabs did not hurt when she applied slight pressure. Hana released a sigh of relief and thought to herself: 'Thank goodness they are not infected. I don't know what I would have done if they were infected. I couldn't rely on Lee to help me treat these wounds. I wish there was a faster way to heal. Wait. Aang did say that one of his friends was a master waterbender and healer. I wonder if I can heal as well by waterbending.'

Hana held her right hand just above the water's surface and bended the water to completely cover her hand. Placing her right hand over several wounds, Hana closed her eyes and breathed deeply trying to concentrate her chi into her right hand. Suddenly, Hana felt her scabs disappear, and her skin felt smooth. Hana proceeded to do the same thing with her left hand on her lower back covering any remaining wounds on her lower back. After finishing, Hana bended the water back into the stream and felt her lower back to know if it had made a difference. Hana's eyes opened wide in shock. She could feel smooth skin without any scars. Hana applied pressure and was amazed that her bruised muscles were healed as well. After washing the few strips of cloth, which she had taken off, and putting on her robe and sash, Hana began the short walk back to the cave.

While walking, Hana quickly became absorbed in her thoughts, 'I wish I could heal the rest of the wounds, but I'll need more time and a deeper stream to do that. However, I could heal Lee's burns quickly if he wasn't so stubborn about me helping him.' The wind began to pick up causing the trees to sway overhead. Just then Hana thought she heard voices carried on the wind. Hana grew concerned and ran to the cave being careful not to make much noise. Once Hana was at the cave, she airbended herself into a tree. To her disappointment, Hana's dream was coming true, and the Fire Nation soldiers with their komodo rhinos and dogs were only a couple hundred yards off. Hana quickly and quietly airbended down to the ground and rushed into the cave.

"Time to wake up, sleepyhead! We have company!" Hana said in an apprehensive whisper. The only response Hana got was a grunt from Lee. Hana proceeded to gather their clothes and the strips of cloth and placing them on the large piece of dark cloth. Lee didn't seem to get the message, so Hana ripped the blanket off of him.

"Today is not the day to be sleeping in. Let's go!" Hana whispered harshly.

"Fine, I'm up. You happy? What's going on?" Lee said groggily sitting up.

"They may be here any minute. Now let's move. I have our clothes, the blankets, and your mask packed." Hana said as she swung the bundle onto her back. Lee definitely got the message that time as he grabbed his sheath in one hand and Hana's hand in the other.

"Alright. Try to keep up." Lee said as he pulled Hana out of the cave with him. Lee and Hana ran to the back of the cave.

"Which way is your ostrich-horse?" whispered Hana.

"It's up north of here." Lee replied.

"If we cross the stream, they may loose our scent." Hana suggested.

"What they have fire hounds with them?!

"I'm afraid so. Please try to keep your voice down. I can feel the vibrations from the komodo rhinos."

"Then, crossing the stream won't work. They will find our scent again quickly." Lee whispered.

Both were silent trying to think of a way to give the enemy the slip. A few moments later…

"I have an idea. Let's head down to the stream." Hana whispered pulling Lee with her down the hill to the stream.

"Did you listen to anything I told you? I already said that wouldn't work, plus it's in the wrong direction." Lee whispered in protest.

"Exactly."

Shortly, Hana and Lee reached stream.

"Ok, now what?" Lee asked while wondering why he let her drag him down to the stream for a plan doomed to fail.

"Alright, now I want you to walk in the opposite direction alongside the stream and then cross it when I do." Lee gave Hana a skeptical look. "Just trust me." Hana said hastily.

"Fine, see you on the other side." Lee said sarcastically while thinking 'We definitely are going to be captured'.

Hana walked quickly alongside the stream in one direction, and Lee walked quickly, as well, in the opposite direction periodically glancing back to see if Hana had crossed yet. Once Hana saw that Lee had walked about fifty feet, she waded across the shallow stream, and Lee did the same.

When Lee got to the other side of the stream and looked over to where Hana should have been. She wasn't there. Frantically looking about for any sign of her, Lee thought to himself, 'Damn, I should have known that she was trying to ditch me somehow and use me as a scapegoat! _And _she has all my stuff!!'.

Suddenly, Hana dropped down from a tree right in front of Lee.

"Did you miss me? I wasn't going to leave you to those _nasty_ men." Hana said sarcastically.

"Great. We crossed the stream. Now what, genius?" Lee mockingly replied.

"Now, you take this." Hana said as she the handed over the bundle to Lee and turned around saying, "Get on my back."

Lee looked at Hana in disbelief saying, "I am not going to be carried on some girl's back."

"Well, this 'some girl' is trying to save your butt. Forget your male ego and climb onto my back and hold on tight." Hana said getting frustrated with Lee's stubbornness once again.

"What for? Why do I need to be carried on your back?"

"Because you can't airbend, and we are going to be traveling through the trees. Now come on. They will be here any minute, and you would have blown our only shot of loosing them." Hana said urgently.

Lee gave in. He quickly secured his sheath to his back and swung the bundle onto his back having the leather cord tied diagonally across his torso [like a backpack. Then, Lee climbed onto Hana's back piggy-back style.

"Hang on tight." Hana said. Lee rolled his eyes, but when Hana launched into the air Lee tightened his grip about Hana's shoulders. Hana jumped back and forth twirling between the two trees. Until she was three-quarters of the way up the one tree, Hana landed on a thick tree branch.

"I thought I told you to hang on." Hana said with a smirk. "So which direction is your ostrich-horse again?"

"That way." Lee said pointing in the north-east direction. Hana turned in said direction and jumped from tree to tree as quietly as possible. Lee looked back only to see the Fire Nation soldiers fading into the forest background.

After about fifteen minutes, Hana abruptly stopped on a thick branch bending down signaling Lee to get off. They had traveled about four miles. Lee stood on the branch and asked, "Why did we stop?"

"Because I'm tired, and my back hurts." Hana said breathlessly. "It's not easy toting you around through the trees."

Lee glared at Hana after her last remark and said, "Well, I didn't ask you to carry me. This was your idea, so don't blame me for the pain it has caused you."

"I'm so glad to hear how _grateful_ you are for my idea. I didn't hear any good ideas coming from you." Hana said harshly back at Lee.

"Well, you never asked."

"Ok, what was your idea?" Hana said sarcastically putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head to one side.

"Well…I thought that we…ok, I didn't have any good ideas at the time." Lee said crossing his arms and avoided Hana's gaze.

"Finally, we agree on something." Hana said throwing her arms up in the air.

Hana grew serious again, saying, "How far are we now from your ostrich-horse?"

"We are actually fairly close. Let's walk from here. I think we put enough distance between us and them." Lee replied still brimming with anger.

"Ok. Can you handle one more ride?" Hana asked with a smirk.

"Ya." Lee said acting as if he didn't notice her smirk.

Hana airbended back down to the forest floor with Lee on her back. Then, Lee lead Hana to another small cave, which actually looked like a large indentation in the grassy hillside. It was barely big enough to shelter the large animal. Inside the cave, there was the ostrich-horse, whose reins were tied to a nearby tree branch.

"Wow, so this is an ostrich-horse. I've never seen one up close." Hana said as she approached the animal. "Hey boy, how are you?" Hana said as she timidly pet the ostrich-horse's broad neck. The animal made a low droning noise in the back of its throat at the welcomed contact.

"How long has he been here?" Hana asked.

Lee bent down and picked up a straw hat off the ground near the back of the shallow cave.

"It's been about two days. I left him plenty of food and some water." Lee replied as he put on the hat and then untied the rope. Lee led the ostrich-horse out of the cave and mounted the animal.

Turning to Hana, Lee said, "Come on. We better keep moving." offering his hand to her. Hana glanced at Lee but returned her worried gaze to the ostrich-horse.

"I've never ridden an ostrich-horse before." Hana said nervously.

"Don't worry. He doesn't bite." Lee said. Hana chuckled as she walked up to the ostrich-horse and grabbed Lee's hand. Lee hoisted Hana onto the ostrich-horse so that she sat behind Lee.

"Give me the pack. I can tie it about my waist." Hana said to Lee.

"Won't it bother your back?"

"No, my lower back is fine now." Hana replied.

Lee passed the bundle back to Hana. Hana tied the leather cord loosely about her waist and positioned the pack behind her. Lee gently kicked the sides of the ostrich-horse. As the ostrich-horse lurched forward, Hana instinctively grabbed onto Lee's waist to keep from falling off the rear of the animal.

"Are you going to hold on to me like this for the whole ride?" Lee asked sounding annoyed.

"Oh, sorry. No, I'm fine now." Hana quickly replied as she placed her hands on her thighs.

After a couple hours, Lee and Hana rode out of the shade of the trees and into a grassy clearing, which stretched out for miles. Even though the sun was starting to peak up over the distant high mountains to their right, the heat was beginning to be oppressive.

"Is there a stream or river along the way?" Hana asked rolling the sleeves of her robe up past her elbows.

"There is a small river. We will probably get there by mid-afternoon."

-------------Time lapse------Time lapse------Time lapse------Time lapse------------

The sun was high in the sky without a cloud in sight. Its heated gaze glared down at the travelers below. Lee had taken off his outer robe but kept his long sleeve shirt on, which was underneath the robe, so as to keep from being burned by the sun. Lee and Hana had only taken one break, escaping the sun for a few minutes by sitting in the waning shadow of a rock wall. Now, there was no hiding from the blazing heat of the sun. There were no trees or even a tall bush, just endless grass hedged in by parallel slabs of rock on either side with a pair of wide muddy ruts running down the middle. Lee and Hana were still riding northward alongside the tracks.

"What left this trail?" Hana asked after awhile.

"A Fire Nation tank probably made these tracks."

"If this was left by the Fire Nation, then I don't think we should keep going in the same direction as the trail."

"Don't worry the tank that made these tracks passed through here awhile ago. We won't be running into any Fire Nation anytime soon."

"How do you know that a tank came through here awhile ago?" Hana asked while getting suspicious at Lee not being entirely honest with her.

"Because I was tracking it a few weeks ago."

"Why were you tracking it?"

Silence hung in the air.

Lee was now regretting ever admitting that he knew it was a tank that made the tracks. He was blaming the sun and the heat for his slip up. He did not want to tell her the truth that he was trailing the tank because he was going to see if it lead to the avatar so that he could capture him. However, Lee wanted to get Hana to trust him, but if he kept getting himself in tight spots like this, then it may be nearly impossible to gain her trust. The silence was getting longer. He had to think of something, which was relatively believable, fast.

Lee's silence was not reassuring to Hana because if he answered without hesitation then it was probably the truth. But now Hana began to feel that she could not fully trust Lee's answer whatever it may be.

Lee finally spoke, "I was trying to find my uncle, and I thought that if I followed these tracks then they would lead me to him."

"Did your uncle get in trouble with the Fire Nation as well?"

"You could say that."

Hana was now entirely confused. 'If what Lee said is true, then what happened that would cause them to be run out of their own homeland? Maybe I will be able to get some real answers once I meet Lee's uncle.' Meanwhile, Hana looked about them seeing nothing but grass and an occasional shrub.

"There is nothing but grass. I am beginning to miss the trees." Hana said randomly.

"Lee, not to seem like I am complaining or anything, but I am very thirsty and hungry since there wasn't any time for breakfast this morning." Hana said sounding tired.

"You're not the only one. Don't worry the river is close." Lee said trying not to waste any energy in getting upset at Hana. She was being rather talkative today.

Hana was finding it rather difficult to stay awake and not fall off the ostrich-horse's back. She noticed that Lee was having a hard time, as well, staying awake and steady on the animal's back.

"Lee, would you like me to take the reins for a little bit?" Hana asked.

"No, I'm fine. Besides I'm the only one who knows where we are heading." Lee replied.

"Well, it seems to me that we are heading straight along these tracks with the glaring sun always above us. Nothing difficult there." Hana said lightheartedly.

"You complain about being hungry and thirsty, yet you have the energy to spare on useless talking." Lee said feeling exasperated by Hana's badgering.

Hana just huffed in annoyance even though she knew Lee was right. She thought, 'why did I have to be stuck on an oversized bird's back with a guy, who has the emotional capacity of a walnut, out in a sea of fiery grass. The spirits must be angry with me, and I'm being punished for my bad karma.'

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**Sorry about the long wait. I know that I said I would update after two weeks, but of course no one can know the future. I felt really bad so I decided to write a extra long chapter for you all. Hoped that you liked it. If you would like to comment feel free to write a review. Thanks again for reading. I will update as soon as time permits. **


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.

Sorry for the wait. I am not going to bore you with excuses. Now on to the story. Enjoy :)

Restoration

Chapter 7

Finally, Lee and Hana caught sight of some sort of life other than grass or a stray bird in the sky. Evergreen trees peaked out of the horizon, slowly growing in the distance.

"We're close now." Lee said. Hana didn't have the strength to reply. She just waited eagerly for them to reach the shade of the trees.

Soon enough, they arrived at the forest's edge. Hana immediately slid off the ostrich-horse and wearily strode towards the trees, plopping down in a sitting position as soon as she was in the shade. Lee hopped off the animal's back and led it underneath the shade sitting down a ways away from Hana leaning his back against a trunk of a tree. Hana pulled the leather cord over her head and placed the heavy sack on the ground next to her.

Turning to Lee, Hana asked, "You said we were close. So where exactly is this river?"

Keeping his eyes closed, Lee replied in a barely audible voice, "You just keep going into the woods. You'll run right into it."

Hana was too tired to reply let alone get up so she flopped back on the cool grass shutting her eyes. She was relieved that they made it to the shade before either of them passed out from the heat and the sun. It was around noon or so. Hana realized that they hadn't eaten anything since their meal from yesterday. If they wanted to keep their strength up and be ready for any unexpected "guests", then they were going to have to find something to eat. She could only hope that there was fish in that river Lee spoke of.

After a few minutes, Hana got up, grabbed the sack, and headed into the forest saying, "I'm going to the river. Don't disturb me." The only answer she heard was a tired "hn" from Lee.

Just as Lee said, Hana came abruptly upon the river. First order of business, Hana eagerly drank the water. It felt so good how the cool water soothed her parched mouth and throat. Looking up and down the river bank, Hana searched for a secluded spot where which she could bathe. She spotted one not far from where she stood. It was perfect. The spot was "u" shaped, and the embankment, which was about three feet above the water's surface, forming a protective wall while the trees' branches hung low enough to form a canopy. Hana quickly took her robe off and her pants, which she laid neatly folded on the embankment in arms reach. This left her wearing her undergarments and the clothe wrappings about her chest. She stepped into the water sighing happily at the cool relief. Even though the water was nice and cool to drink, it was fairly cold when she fully got into the water. In the shallow part, which was only three feet deep, Hana lowered herself down into the water until the water came to her shoulders. Hana looked about making sure that Lee had not followed her or that anyone else was around. Seeing none, she removed the cloth wrapped about her chest exposing the rest of her wounds on her back. Closing her eyes, Hana breathed deeply and concentrated on focusing her chi to her upper-mid back. She felt the same soothing feeling as she sensed her skin and muscles beginning to mend. After a few moments, Hana opened her eyes trying to feel with her hands if her back had healed. To Hana's relief, she did not feel any scabs, scars or sore muscles. After healing her back, Hana wrapped her chest back up and lay back against a rock enjoying the coolness of the water for a little longer. Suddenly, a small bird flew onto the overhanging branch. The bird seemed to be studying Hana, and Hana was doing the same.

"You're wondering what I am. Quite a curious bird, you are. You're not afraid of me, are you little fella'?" Hana said kindly offering her left hand for the bird to land on. The bird chirped confidently in reply and gingerly flew down to Hana's outstretched hand. Hana brought the bird closer to her so that the bird was standing a foot and a half away from her face. "We're friends, aren't we?" The bird chirped happily in response and hoped about on Hana's hand.

"It's a coincidence that we met under this tree. Are you trying to keep cool, same as me?" Hana asked and the bird chirped in response. "Ya? I thought so. Hehe. I really wonder if you can understand me." The bird stayed silent cocking its head from side to side as if studying Hana or thinking that she was just plain nuts. "Well, I guess your wondering why I am talking to you. Simply put, I have been stuck on the back of an oversized bird for hours with a person, who you would probably think was a mute. He is an unusual person. I haven't quite figured him out yet. I have a feeling that it will take awhile, and I don't know if I will get the chance to know him better. I do know that he does not like to talk unless it achieves a useful purpose. You see. I am only traveling with him because I don't know my way around this country very well, and I need to find my friend. This is going to become a long story. Do you mind if I unload on you?" The bird gave her a soft chirp and made itself comfortable, resting on the palm of her hand by folding its tiny legs beneath its small body. Hana continued, and the bird looked intently at her. "You seem to be the listening type. I haven't had someone, who is particularly responsive, to talk to for awhile, but beggars can't be choosers, huh? My time here has not been that pleasant. Well, it did start out pleasant. I used to live with a healer in a small Earth Kingdom village, which had not yet been occupied by the Fire Nation. I learned many useful things from her. Telsa is her name, and she is very nice and possesses much knowledge about herbs. I hope that she is doing ok. Well, anyway, after I recovered from my injuries, I stayed for while helping her treat the sick, injured, and elderly in the village. It was great living in that village. People were so kind to me even though I was a stranger to them. I loved taking care of the young children who came in. Not much time past until an unusual amount of refugees started to arrive in the village. Telsa became worried because the last time that refugees arrived, it heralded the another invasion by the Fire Nation. I tried to keep my bending abilities a secret as Telsa warned me to, but someone must have spotted me practicing my bending when I went alone to the stream to gather water. Well, to make a long story short, the Fire Nation attacked the village and demanded that I be handed over or the people would pay dearly for their insubordination. I willingly handed myself over because I knew if I put up a fight then the villagers would be in danger." Hana paused looking troubled. The bird cocked its head at her and chirped several times seeming to urge her to continue. "Sorry, I got lost in thought. I was just wondering about what the young captain told me when I asked why the Fire Nation would be concerned over a small insignificant village after being in the area for years. He told me that they were patrolling this area because they saw a bright light shoot across the night sky like a comet a few weeks prior. Since the avatar had been seen to have returned to the Earth Kingdom, they were ordered by princess Azula to search the whole area where the comet could have possibly landed. And that's when they heard rumors about a strong bender being in that area. They found me because of that bright light. When the Fire Nation took me to their fortress, that's when things started to get worse. They only knew that I could waterbend. I wanted to use airbending as a last resort, because the only other person known to be able to airbend is the avatar, as Telsa explained to me." Hana proceeded to narrate for the bird what occurred during her imprisonment and after her escape as if it could understand what she was saying.

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Lee was exhausted from being out on the plains for so long in the unrelenting sunshine especially with _that_ girl. He wasn't a talkative person. Lee didn't consider himself a social person. He spoke when it was necessary, but he preferred not to waste words. He was never good at conversation skills; however, conversations with his mother were an exception. Lee thought to himself, 'Geez, it just had to be my luck to be stuck with a girl, who wants to talk even if it's a waste of time and energy.' Even though he felt irritated and annoyed by her, he couldn't leave her behind. She knew something useful about the avatar, which could possibly lead him to the avatar before his power-hungry sister found him. Even if it was a possibility, he would still try. What did he have to loose? That's just the way he is, a fighter. He is someone who doesn't give up, just as the inscription on the dagger, which his uncle gave years ago, says "never give up without a fight." He wouldn't give up, ever. He has spent over three years looking for the avatar, and he wasn't going to let a chatty, moody girl get in his way.

After Hana left for the river, Lee stayed and slept against the tree. Once his head began to clear from the dizziness he felt earlier, Lee got up and decided to take the ostrich-horse down to the river. He took a quick look about to make sure they were the only ones around. He didn't care if Hana did not want to be disturbed. It was too dangerous for them to be separated because there was a possibility that the Fire Nation soldiers could catch up to them. Before Lee turned to lead the ostrich-horse into the woods, he caught sight of a hawk. It was not unusual to see a hawk flying high above the plains. However, Lee knew that this hawk was of a species native to the Fire Nation, and it was carrying something on its back. Now, he definitely knew that it was time to keep moving on since the Fire Nation must be sending out wanted posters to neighboring towns occupied by the Fire Nation. They were going to have to be very careful when venturing into any towns they came across.

On his way to the river, Lee came across a blueberry bush. Stopping, he helped himself to some berries and fed some to the ostrich-horse, as well. After Lee had gotten to the river and let the ostrich-horse drink, he looked about to see where Hana had gone to. He couldn't see her from where he was. Suddenly, Lee felt a presence. This was bad. He didn't know where Hana was, and they had company whether hostile or friendly. He couldn't determine if it was either one or the other. He was hoping it was the later for both their sakes. As quietly as he could, Lee hid the ostrich-horse as best he could behind some tall bushes. He unsheathed his sword and began to search the river bank for Hana.

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**So what did ya think?? Huh? Huh?! Come on, I know you want to click that button below and let me know what you think. Any criticism or encouragement is welcome. Reviews do help me to be motivated to write [I ain't going to lie. Cookies to all who read my story. Yaah! I will try to post another chapter either before my spring break starts or during my spring break. Now click that button below!! **


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar. I do own any characters I create.

Restoration 

Chapter 8

"…meanwhile he's trying to sleep and the Fire Nation is almost at our doorstep. So I…" Hana abruptly stopped since the bird suddenly stood up and chirped frantically in alarm before it hastily flew away. She was confused for a moment until she felt the strong presence of someone. Hana lowered herself deeper into the water and crossed her arms over her chest feeling very self-conscious and embarrassed because of being caught in this vulnerable state. As soon as she felt the presence of someone, she heard a voice.

"Excuse us, please."

Hana slowly turned around to see two men standing about twenty feet away from her amongst the trees. They both wore Earth Kingdom clothes. The one was tall, very muscular and very rough looking with his large arms crossed in front of his chest, and the other was of medium height, slender build and looked refined and dignified having his hands folded and held at the level of his waist. 'These guys look like the odd couple.' Hana thought raising an eyebrow.

"We're sorry to disturb you." The slender man said bowing respectfully.

"I accept your apology. Now please leave." Hana said briskly trying not to sound too irritated or rude.

"We would like to ask you a question." The slender man said, seeming not to have heard Hana's last statement.

"Maybe I need to spell it out for you. I am bathing here right now, so Get Out!!" Hana shouted, loosing her temper. 'Who are these guys? Is Mr. Toothpick dense our something?'

"Just answer one simple question, and I promise you that we will be on our way." He continued to disregard Hana's growing anger.

"First tell me your names." Hana commanded.

"I do beg your pardon. My name is Yu, Master Yu. And this is Xin Fu." Yu said in gesturing towards Xin Fu.

"Alright, what do you want to know _Master_ Yu?"

"I was wondering if you have seen a young man with a scar over his left eye."

"Why would you want to know about a young man with a scar?" Hana asked curiously wondering about how much trouble Lee is in to have people of the Earth Kingdom pursuing him as well.

"It's quite simple. The Fire Nation is offering a large sum for the arrest of this boy and his uncle. Have you seen anyone resembling this description?" Yu said respectfully.

"How could you possibly want to help the Fire Nation?" Hana asked incredulously.

"Just answer the question! You're in no position to make accusations." Xin Fu said harshly. At this reply, Hana moved back slightly.

Hana started to weight things out in her head quickly because she had no time to spare. 'I forgot he was here. Dang. How do I get out of this one? I could say "I haven't seen him", but if they run into him or worse Lee shows up now, then this Xin Fu guy will definitely cause me some trouble. I know that I can definitely take on the Yu guy with just waterbending, no problem. But if I have to fight both these guys with just waterbending, then it might be a little rough. Especially in my undergarments no less!! Ugh, how do I get myself into these things?!'

"Since you are being very rude, I decline in answering your question." Hana said defiantly, trying to stall as long as she could until she could think of good solution to the present problem.

Master Yu turned to Xin Fu saying, "Why does your temper have to make things more difficult?"

Xin Fu ignored Yu's question and replied to Hana, saying in a threatening manner, "You're going to answer the question whether you want to or not." Xin Fu then assumed a wider stance with his legs. Hana recognized this stance and knew that she was facing _two_ earthbenders. The only thing that kept resounding in her head was 'Crap.'

Xin Fu could not be patient any longer. He had a feeling that this girl was hiding something, which was probably about the young man they wanted. Xin Fu was going to get answers out her or else. He quickly stopped his one foot on the ground and raised both of his arms up.

Before Hana could make a move, she was encased in an earthen prison, which resembled an upside-down cone with her head sticking out the "bottom" of the cone. Hana struggled trying to break the hard earth. She couldn't move around much since she was sitting on her heels, knees bent, and her arms were folded across her chest. There was a glimmer of hope of getting out of this prison since Hana was able to move her arms a little. Xin Fu continued, now taking on the air of an interrogator.

"Not so cocky now, huh, little girl." Xin Fu said with a smirk, advancing towards her. Master Yu only rolled his eyes feeling that this situation was getting out of hand, especially because of Xin Fu's short temper.

Xin Fu stopped his advance when he got to the edge of the embankment and crouched down saying, "I know that you are hiding something from us. Tell us were _he_ is."

Hana thought fast. First, Hana brought her arms as far down as she could so now she had both of her elbows against the walls of her prison with both of her arms still crossed about her waist. She gracefully moved her hands on either side of her, thus, gaining control of a small amount of water surrounding her. By flicking her wrists up and down, she began to make the slashes deeper and deeper in the earth.

"I am not going to tell you anything, because I don't know anything about where this guy, who you're looking for, is." Hana retorted back trying to stall just a bit longer. She hated to tell lies but, _technically_, she didn't know _exactly_ where Lee was right now.

Lee had finally found Hana.

It was more like he stumbled upon her. When he came to the river, he had chosen to go right instead of left. As a result it took Lee twice as long to find Hana because he had to turn around when he knew that he had gone in the wrong direction. Now, Lee was crouched behind several large bushes watching as the drama unfolds. He had heard Xin Fu say that he wanted Hana to answer some kind of question, but he hadn't gotten there soon enough to hear what they were trying to find out from Hana. Hana was currently in a bad spot being confined in an earthen prison. Lee thought it best that he hid for now until he found out more about the situation and to better gauge both of the men's strengths. 'At the moment, Hana isn't in any mortal danger. Wait, no, I just did not think that!' Furthermore, he could tell that even though Hana was in a tight spot right now, he knew the look on her face meant that she was working on some sort of plan to get out. So he would sit and wait for the right time to intervene, if it ever would arise.

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I hope that you liked this chapter. If you like to leave some feedback, please feel free to press the button below and review. As always, thank you for reading. I know I might have said that this chapter was going to contain a fighting scene in it, but you'll have to wait for the next chapter for that. Sorry. I underestimated how long it would take to work up to the battle. I will update ASAP. Happy Easter!!


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar.

Thank you to those who reviewed and put my story on their story alert list and/or favorites list. I love you guys and gals!! I was so pumped by the feedback of my latest reviewer that I couldn't stop writing. The words just were flowing. See what a little review can do. :) A lot, that's all I have got to say. I was going to post this story last night but my internet was down. The more you review. The faster I get chapters out. I don't like to bargain, but the energy and enthusiasm that I draw from the reviews, which I receive, really does help to motivate me to continue this story. Enough of my babbling.

Without further ado…

Oh just for you information: _thoughts_. Alright now read on and enjoy:)

Restoration

Chapter 9

Hana remained silent, and of course Xin Fu was loosing even more of the little patience which he had left.

Turning to Master Yu, Xin Fu asked, "So what do you do when they don't talk?"

Master Yu just shrugged his shoulders saying, "I'm sure that you can think of something."

Finally, Hana got the slashes in the earth to become deep enough. But it seemed almost too late. Xin Fu earthbended a large boulder into his hands, holding it above his head as he stood in front of Hana.

"Fine if you won't talk without encouragement. Maybe this is enough encouragement for you." Xin Fu said angrily.

Very quickly, Hana started to freeze the water in the deep slashes with her hands. Hana had been pushed into a hard spot, and she knew that now she had to literally fight her way out of this one. As the water froze, it pushed the earthen sides of the deep gashes causing the wall to begin cracking under the extreme pressure. Xin Fu heard a cracking sound and began to look around to see where it was coming from. Looking back at the girl, he soon saw long cracks appearing in the earth encasing the girl.

As soon as the walls began to break, Hana forced water up around her obliterating the rock walls imprisoning her. The pieces of earth flew outwards in every direction. Xin Fu stumbled back in surprise. In a split second, Hana sliced the large boulder, which Xin Fu was holding, in half. The two halves fell upon Xin Fu's shoulders, and Xin Fu cursed in pain. Before Xin Fu could retaliate, Hana brought up a frozen wall of ice within seconds, thus blocking Xin Fu's and Master Yu's sight as she ran to grab her clothes off the branch. She found a large tree a short ways away from the river and ran to it extending the ice wall along the way. Xin Fu let out a yell of anger as he quickly shattered the ice wall.

"Damn it! Where did that weasel girl go?!" Xin Fu exclaimed.

The only response, which Xin Fu got, was Master Yu heaving a tired sigh and then saying "Maybe if you didn't threaten people off the bat, the girl would have let us know if she's seen the kid and his uncle."

"Well, you're the one who told me that I would think of something. And that's what I did!"

_Phew, that was close. Thank goodness I was able to get out of that tight spot._ Hana thought as she hastily waterbended the water out of her undergarments. Hana then quickly put on her robe and pants. _Maybe I can sneak away if they don't try to search the area too thoroughly._

"She couldn't have gotten far." Master Yu said as he began to look about behind trees and shrubs. Xin Fu began to do the same.

Hana looked about herself to see if Lee had brought the ostrich-horse further into the forest. As she scanned around, the gleam of something reflecting the sun caught her eye. Hana peered further around the tree. _There is someone hiding behind that bush. Is that Lee's sword? Dang, that is probably Lee. Why did he come here?! If he is here then where is the ostrich-horse? This is just great. The one person, I don't need right now, is here. Oh no, Master Yu is getting closer to Lee! I have got to distract him somehow without drawing attention to myself. Oh gosh, how the heck am I going to do that!_

Hana climbed up the tree as quietly as possible without using her airbending. Using her airbending to only balance herself out when needed, Hana moved silently through the trees to get closer to the river. She held her breath as she passed over Xin Fu. Hana stopped on the branch overhanging the water. It seemed that Xin Fu, Master Yu, and Lee didn't even notice her movement through the trees. But she was terribly mistaken. Xin Fu had heard something move through the trees, but he was having a hard time pinpointing where she had stopped. While Xin Fu was busy trying to figure out where she was hiding, Hana used this moment to bend a water whip and smacked the back of Master Yu's head as he was about to pear around the bush where Lee was hiding.

"Ouch! What was that for?!" Master Yu exclaimed rubbing the back of his head to try and dull the pain.

"What? I didn't do it. What happened to your head?"

Looking at his hand, which had been placed on the back of his head, Master Yu replied, "Something wet just hit the back of my head."

An expression of a light bulb going off washed over Xin Fu's face as he turned to look at Master Yu.

"She's a waterbender!" Xin Fu exclaimed. Master Yu only shook his head slowly.

Xin Fu said with a smirk, "This should be fun."

_Like turtleducks, it's going to be fun! He only figured that out now. Geez, this guy may have some big muscles; however, he is lacking in brain power. _Hana thought to herself. _Thankfully that worked. Lee should be safe for now. But, somehow, I have got to get rid of these guys so that Lee and I can make a clean escape. If that's going to be possible…no, I got to think positive. I can't let Lee's negative attitude rub off on me._

At that moment, Xin Fu assumed the horse stance and began to heave the ground under the ring of trees up and back down again. When he came to the trees on the fringe of the riverbank, Hana gasped as she lost her balance and slipped off the branch. She tried to stay on the branch by grabbing on to it as she fell, but her grip wasn't strong enough.

"Aah!" Hana cried as she fell into the river on her back. Since the water was shallow, Hana hit the riverbed hard knocking the breath out of her. She came up sputtering water and gasping for air.

"There you are little weasel girl." Xin Fu said in a dark tone as he faced her.

In between her gasps, Hana shouted, "I am not…a weasel!!"

"That's right get angry." Xin Fu said as he got ready to fight seriously.

While she stood dripping soaking wet in the water, Hana said "You jerk." in a low tone as she glared at Xin Fu.

_Oh wow, she's scary looking when she is angry. She kind of reminds me of Azula. I hope she never gets that angry at me. _Lee cringed as he thought this to himself while the tension thickened rapidly in the air. He could feel the pressure of it building, causing him to feel like he was shrinking. _Looks like I am going to have to step in soon._

Xin Fu earthbended several medium sized boulders out of the ground and kicked them one at a time. Hana clenched both her hands with only her index and middle fingers extended and cut the boulders in half easily with curved blades of water. The pieces of rock fell harmlessly on either side of her.

"You're going to have to do better than that to get me." Hana smirked keeping her arms raised defensively.

Hana began to move her arms in rapid succession. Xin Fu began to ready his second wave. Numerous streams of water waved back and forth around Hana, creating a perfect defense barrier. _This should make it harder for him to get those rocks any closer to me and allow me to deflect any attacks from the other guy. I may not have fought earthbenders before, but it looks like I can handle these guys. _

Xin Fu then sent even larger boulders at Hana with tremendous velocity. This time Hana had more difficulty deflecting these boulders. There were three reasons why. First, they were larger, which caused her to have to change their path instead of slicing them into smaller pieces. Furthermore, with using only the liquid form of water this proved to be difficult. Secondly, they were moving faster, and this speed combined with their weight caused them to have greater momentum. Thirdly, they were spaced closer together giving her only milliseconds to deflect the next boulder after the first.

Xin Fu felt confident seeing Hana struggling with this second onslaught. _I can't continue with this defensive course. I am tiring to quickly staying in one spot. I have to move. I am too vulnerable in this stationary position._ Hana quickly thought of another strategy, only soon enough it seemed, as Master Yu finally decided to join the battle.

Hana bended the water as she did a roundhouse kick slicing the trunk of the tree nearest her. As the trunk of the tree began to slide to the left, Hana propelled a large stream of water towards the tree with both hands, causing the tree to fall towards Xin Fu. Hana then turned her attention to Master Yu. Yu slid his foot forward while punching outwards sending a block of rock towards Hana. She easily obliterated it with a strong water stream. Hana answered back by rapidly shooting small shards of ice towards Yu. But Yu easily blocked them with an earthen sheild, which disappeared as fast as it had appeared. Master Yu then tried to break Hana's stance by shifting the ground beneath Hana's feet. Hana quickly leaped out of the water onto the grass as she threw four water disks at Yu's feet. Yu dodged them effortlessly as the razor sharp disks sliced the ground. Hana could hear Xin Fu grunt in pain as his effort to stop the falling tree was not entirely successful. Hana glanced over and saw that Xin Fu had bended the earth upwards horizontally instead of at an angle. Consequently, the tree teetered off the raised plateau and still ended up falling on Xin Fu as he tried to dodge the trunk of the tree. _Ha! It got him. Alright Master Yu lets play._ Hana smirked back at Yu as water began to cover her body and her arms forming long tentacles. Yu put up a rock wall as Hana tried to hit him with one of her tentacle arms. But Hana easily sliced it in pieces using both tentacle arms. Next, Yu tried to use Xin Fu's tactic with the medium-sized boulders. Even though Yu sent them at an even greater velocity than Xin Fu, Hana deflected some of them, and the last two boulders she caught within each of her water tentacles.

Lee watched all this in astonishment. _Hana can definitely take care of herself. She must be from the northern water tribe, because she's using some high level techniques, which only a waterbending master would know. But that still doesn't explain her airbending ability, though she is doing well without using her airbending. Why isn't she using her airbending? Uh oh, ugly is back._

"You stupid water tribe brat, you aren't going to beat the great Xin Fu of Earth Rumble Six!!" Xin Fu shouted angrily as he emerged slowly from the thick branches with leaves and twigs sticking out of his clothes and hair.

Hana only giggled at how Xin Fu could never see _this_ coming. She leaned back as she waved her right arm backwards thus flicking the small boulder she was holding in her right tentacle. Xin Fu didn't realize the true intention of Hana's movement until it was too late. _Splat!_ Mud covered Xin Fu's face. When Hana had caught the boulder that Master Yu shot at her, it had started to soften into mud in the water.

Hana didn't wait another second using this moment when Yu was distracted. She whipped the right tentacle back slamming Master Yu back into a tree. Hana swung the left tentacle in Yu's direction but Yu was able to dodge the mud ball, which hit the tree harmlessly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Xin Fu had got the mud out his eyes and was preparing another assault.

Hana thought that Xin Fu was going to try propelling some more rocks or something at her again, but she was terribly mistaken. Xin Fu was pissed. He couldn't believe another small girl was beating him at his own game. Xin Fu bended the ground underneath Hana upwards, causing her to loose her concentration. Her water tentacles fell away, and she rapidly accelerating up towards the thick tree branches of the canopy overhead. Hana jumped off and hit the ground hard rolling away from the wide pillar of earth, which now towered over her. She got up quickly huffing from the shock of Xin Fu's attack. _He almost killed me._ She didn't want to admit it, but she was a bit frightened of Xin Fu.

"Don't you think that was going a little too far, Xin Fu."

"Shut up! I wasn't going to kill her. I am just going to make sure she won't be able to bend again." Xin Fu replied with vengeance dripping from his mouth.

While both benders were talking to each other, Hana started to run along the bank of the river.

"Oh, no you don't." Xin Fu bended a rock wall in Hana's path. She halted and turned around. _I guess I'll have to stay and finish this, though I don't want to. Ha! And I thought I would be able to run. Dang._ Hana put on a determined face even though she really was scared that she wouldn't get out of this one without just a few bruises. She took charge of the situation and began running back towards Xin Fu pulling a wave of water with her. Master Yu saw that Hana's attention was directed toward Xin Fu. He took this chance and bended the earth so that it jetted out right in front of Hana at a forty-five degree angle. Hana reacted in a split second and flowed with the motion of the earth using it to fuel her momentum as she did a back-flip.

_Dangnabit!! I forgot about Mr. Toothpick for just a second, and it nearly cost me. _Hana stood facing both waiting to see which was going to make the first move. Then she spotted a way to fight one of them at a time. _I can hide behind the earthen tower Xin Fu made and attack one of them at a time. This just might work._ She quickly put her plan into action. Hana ran up to the side of the rock wall facing Master Yu pulling water from the river with her. Yu was pushed up a large oak tree and frozen up to his chin in ice. Hana knew that this wouldn't hold him for long since it was a hot day, but it should buy her enough time to deal with Xin Fu. Pulling the water from the moist ground, Hana came out of the shelter of the rock wall holding large globs of water on either side of her. Xin Fu bended two slabs of rock in front of him like a fortress.

"Are you scared of me?" Hana said amused. "Why don't you fight me, face to face?"

"Aaaahh" Xin Fu yelled in frustration and anger as he bended one of the rock slabs towards Hana, but she easily side stepped it. _Gotcha!!_ Hana bended one of the globs of water into an ice spear and propelled at incredible speed toward Xin Fu. Xin Fu barely had enough time to bend a small slab of rock and held it up to block the spear. The spear shattered as it hit the rock's surface. But the small shards grazed across Xin Fu's face leaving small cuts all over.

"Uuggh!!" Xin Fu cried raising a hand up to the side of his face. Looking at the small specks of blood on his hand, Xin Fu shouted, "You fricken brat!!" He bended the other rock wall towards Hana, but she dodged it the same way as before. However, no later than when Hana sidestepped to the left of the attack that she realized her mistake. She was standing with her back to the rock wall, which Xin Fu had made minutes before. Xin Fu was not aiming at her. _He was aiming for the rock wall behind me!_ Hana turned to see the tower of rock begin to crumble from the top down. Xin Fu bent the rocks to fall faster towards the girl. Hana shut her eyes and raised her arms in a futile attempt to protect herself. The last thing running through Hana's mind, during those last few seconds before the rocks would crush her, was _Oh dear spirits, please protect me. _

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**Muahahahahaha!! A dreaded cliffhanger! Will Hana unleash some incredible spirit power? I think not. But oh gosh what's going to happen? Hahaha. Review and I just might get the next chapter out by the end of this week. I can't guarantee it because I have a physical chemistry lab report and homework problem set due next week. But I will definitely try my best. But reviews do motivate me so much, that I might blow off the homework just to finish the next chapter. smirks mischievously Senoritus is sinking in fast. lol**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender

This is dedicated to my new readers, who added my story to their alert list. Enjoy!

Restoration 

Chapter 10

From the previous chapter:

"Aarrrgh!!" Xin Fu cried raising a hand up to the side of his face. Looking at the small specks of blood on his hand, Xin Fu shouted, "You fricken brat!!" He bended the other rock wall towards Hana, but she dodged it the same way as before. However, no later than when Hana sidestepped to the left of the attack that she realized her mistake. She was standing with her back to the rock wall, which Xin Fu had made minutes before. Xin Fu was not aiming at her. _He was aiming for the rock wall behind me!_ Hana turned to see the tower of rock begin to crumble from the top down. Xin Fu bent the rocks to fall faster towards the girl. Hana shut her eyes and raised her arms in a futile attempt to protect herself. The last thing running through Hana's mind, during those last few seconds before the rocks would crush her, was _Oh dear spirits, please protect me. _

But instead of feeling the rocks crushing her, she felt arms instead. Someone wrapped his arms around her pulling her with him to the ground. When they had stopped skidding across the ground, Hana slowly opened her eyes and released her vice grip on the person's robe. After realizing that Hana was hiding her face in the person's chest, she looked up slowly to see a pair of golden eyes looking down at her. _Lee!! I totally forgot that he was here. Oh thank you dear spirits. I wasn't alone out here._

"Don't ever freeze up like that again." Lee said a little harsher than he meant to.

"Ah, al…al…alright." Hana stuttered while trying to comprehend everything which had just happened.

"Are you alright?" Lee said a little nicer this time though it still sounded rough because of his husky voice.

"Yes." Hana said as she coughed from the dust cloud covering them.

"Could you get off of me?" Lee asked coughing as well from the dust in the air.

Looking down Hana realized that she was on top of Lee.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Hana said hastily as she got up off of him.

While offering Lee her hand Hana asked, "Are you alright?" _He's the one who slid on the ground with my extra weight on top of him._ Lee ignored Hana's hand standing up while holding his duel sword in one hand.

_Oh no. Where are Xin Fu and Master Yu?_ Hana looked wildly around, but she couldn't see anything in this thick dust cloud. Hana quickly turned to face Lee.

"Lee, they are looking for you and your uncle. You need to go hide before this dust cloud…" Hana stopped suddenly when the dust in the air suddenly disappeared as if a great gust of wind had whipped through the woods. Hana let a small gasp escape her lips.

"Well, how nice of you to join us." Xin Fu said bowing his head mockingly towards Lee.

Lee separated his duel swords and assumed a defensive stance beside Hana.

"If you come quietly, then we'll let the girl go unharmed."

Hana looked disgusted. _I will not be used as a bargaining chip!_

"Lee, don't listen to him. We can take them on. There's one for each of us." Hana said in a low voice. Lee only nodded in reply. _If she could hold both of them off for as long as she did, then she'll be fine against one of them._

"Let's make this fair, shall we?" Xin Fu said. He bended a few well aimed rocks and broke the ice which pinned Master Yu to the oak tree.

"You take on that Yu guy, and I'll take care of the _great_ Xin Fu." Lee said.

Hana looked over at Lee astonished. _Did he just crack a joke? Lee of the stoic face made a joke. Hehe._

"Let's go." Hana said smiling as she pulled water from the river and charged towards Yu. Yu quickly raised up an earthen wall around himself. Seeing that she could not reach him from her current position, Hana bended the water into large droplets and held them above where Yu remained hidden behind his earthen fort.

Lee noticed Xin Fu following Hana's movements.

"I am your opponent now. You shouldn't take me so lightly." Lee remarked stepping forward.

"You're pretty cocky, boy. I am going to enjoy putting you in your place, firebender." Xin Fu said vengefully. He began to bend large chunks of earth and propelling them like soccer balls at Lee. Hana glanced over. _He looks like he is handling himself well enough on his own. But why isn't he using his firebending. Both these men already know that he is a firebender so what is the harm in using a little bending power right now._ While Hana was distracted, Yu used this moment to attack Hana. However, Hana saw the attack in time to dodge it. After his attack Yu left himself vulnerable on his one side since he had used the one half of his earthen wall as a weapon. She quickly froze the droplets of water into ice shards and shot them at Yu from overhead. Yu easily block this attack by pulling an arch of earth over himself. The shards shattered harmlessly against the clay earth. Meanwhile, Lee was still blocking the borage of rock sent by Xin Fu using only his duel swords. Xin Fu wasn't showing any signs of tiring, but this mode of defense for Lee was becoming taxing on his hands. _Damn it. Hitting these boulders is making my hands go numb from the aftershock of shattering each boulder. I wish that I could use my bending but its so hot and dry today that even a small flame would spark a forest fire and we all would be done for. _

Hana noticed that they were both in a stalemate waiting for each other to attack. She seized this opportunity and bended a massive amount of water out of the river forming a hollow whirlpool around herself and Lee. This created a protective barrier against them and the two earthbenders.

"Lee, we need to think of a plan to end this quickly. This is becoming too prolonged, and I am getting tired." Hana said softly while keeping the water moving about them. Xin Fu tried to get a boulder to pass through, but it only got swept away with the water.

"I agree." Lee replied.

"It would help a lot if you would use your firebending. I don't think it would matter if you used it since they already know that you are a firebender."

"I haven't been holding back because of that. This forest is too dry, and any flame, which isn't controlled with care, will set this whole forest on fire. I can't guarantee that we would get out of this alive if that happened."

"Oh, I didn't realize that. You're right. We'll just have to rely on my waterbending only."

"Why can't you use your airbending, as well?"

"Airbending isn't as effective against earthbending as water is. Also, it would cause too much attention if I noticeably bended two elements. I have been using my airbending subtly in order to freeze the water more quickly. But that is the extent to which I will use airbending. Using it any other way would be too risky."

All of a sudden, Hana and Lee heard Xin Fu yell angrily, "What are you two hiding for?!" Seconds later, an earthen wall shot out of the ground and halted the stream of water. From the water colliding with the wall, Hana quickly used the dispersed water to form long ice spears. Bringing her hands downwards like claws, the spears were brought down upon Yu imprisoning him. Since the ice kept Yu from moving his arms or legs freely, he could not earthbend his way out of this icy prison either.

"Yu, why do you seem to get caught in these predicaments? This is how you take of nuisances." Xin Fu said as he sent another barrage of rocks at Lee. Hana began to bend more water from the river forming tentacles along her arms. Before Lee could recover from this onslaught, Xin Fu quickly slid his left foot forward and made an "uppercut punch" motion with his right arm. For a split second nothing seemed to happen, Hana was not sure where the attack was supposed to come from. Suddenly, a pillar of rock shot out of the ground right in front of Lee sending him flying backwards onto the ground. Lee lay still on the ground with a pained expression on his face.

"Lee! No!!" Hana shouted turning her attention back to Xin Fu. Hana took hold of Xin Fu's right arm and left leg with her water tentacles.

"I hope you can swim." Hana said with an evil smirk as she lifted Xin Fu into the air.

"Aaarrraaah!!" Hana yelled as she used the little strength, that she had left, to throw Xin Fu out across the surface of the river. She could see Xin Fu's figure grow smaller as he skipped across the river's surface on his back. After Hana couldn't see Xin Fu anymore, she began to bend more water out of the river.

"Don't worry. I am no threat to you now." Master Yu said to Hana. "I know when I have lost a battle."

Hana was relieved. She let the water fall and ran to Lee's side.

Dropping down on her knees beside Lee, Hana asked in a worried tone, "Lee, can you hear me? Can you get up?"

Lee stirred and opened his eyes, replying in a low tone, "I think a couple of my ribs are bruised or maybe broken."

"We have to get out of here before the other guy gets back. Here, try to sit up." Hana said as she put her arm behind Lee's back trying to give him some support. Lee slowly sat up. As he was sitting up, Lee hissed in pain as he tried to lean forward too far, and he shot back upright.

"I would treat your wounds right now, but we need to leave as soon as we can." Hana said as she took his swords, fit them together, and hung the single duel sword at her side on her sash. Next, she lifted Lee's left arm and draped it over her shoulders, and she put her other arm across Lee's back and underneath his right arm.

"Alright, let's try standing up." Hana said giving Lee an encouraging smile.

"I'm not a little kid, you know. I can get up myself."

"I know. I'll be right here if you need me. Come on, let's get going." Lee stood up with Hana giving him a little bit of help in steadying himself.

"I left the ostrich-horse and supplies that way." Lee said pointing in the said direction.

Hana helped Lee walk at an even pace. Lee wasn't hissing in pain anymore, but Hana could tell from Lee's facial expression that his injuries still hurt as they walked along. They walked awhile in silence until Hana broke it, saying "How far away did you hid the ostrich-horse?"

"It shouldn't be much farther." Lee said softly. Hana could tell by his tone that he was trying not to get upset with her for making him talk. Suddenly, Hana could feel something. The feeling was that when she would feel the presence of a person, but this feeling was a little different.

"Here, boy. Where are you?" Hana called out. A rustling noise could be heard to her left. Soon she saw the ostrich-horse trotting over to her and Lee with their supplies and a sheath hanging around its neck.

"Good boy." Hana said happily as she scratched its neck rewardingly. "I am going to need you to do me a favor." The ostrich-horse looked at Hana as Lee looked at Hana like she was insane that this animal could understand her.

"Lee, here, is hurt so he can't get on your back like he normally does. I need you to get lower to the ground, so he can get on. Alright?" Hana said while scratching its neck more. To Lee's amazement, the animal grunted as it lowered itself down onto the ground. _Hmm. She definitely seems to have a way with animals._

Lee broke Hana's grasp on his one arm, saying "I can get on myself, thanks." As Lee went to sit on the ostrich-horse's back, Hana turned her attention back to the animal.

"Can I have this?" Hana asked the ostrich-horse as she went to grab the sheath and sack hanging around its neck. The animal bowed its head letting her take them from around his neck. Hana swung the sack over her shoulder and strapped the sheath about her waist. Sheathing the sword, Hana noticed that she had forgotten all about her leather shoes, which were left by the tree where she hung her clothes on.

Leaning close to the ostrich-horse's ear, Hana spoke in a low enough tone, so that Lee couldn't hear, "I need you to take good care of him. He's hurt so get up slowly."

_What is she telling it? This girl is weird. She talks to animals like they understand her. They're just animals. They can't understand us any better than we can understand them. _

Hana backed away, and the ostrich-horse got up slowly as Hana requested.

"I'll meet you outside the forest. I left my boots back at the river." Hana said to Lee as she handed him the reigns. Lee didn't protest that she had all their supplies and his sword. Hana was waiting for some sarcastic remark or something. Lee pulled on the reigns and headed towards the plains without a reply. _She isn't going to try and give me the slip. She needs me, at least, to get her to a town._

Hana watched Lee for a little while to make sure that he was alright riding on his own. _I can't help but worry about his condition. We have to get some distance between ourselves and those two earthbenders before we can stop long enough for me to heal him._ Hana thought this to herself as she turned back and quietly made her way to the riverbank. While staying low Hana noticed that Yu was still trapped by the ice spears. She looked about but couldn't see Xin Fu anywhere. _I must have thrown him really far out into the river. Serves him right though. Lee hadn't even used his bending once, and Xin Fu went for an underhanded move like that. Oh, well, I better get going. Lee is probably waiting for me. _Hana grabbed her shoes and left without Yu noticing her. Once she was far enough away, she washed her feet and put her shoes on.

_Damn ribs. I wish Hana had healing abilities like that watertribe peasant. What's her name? Kani? Kana? Katrice? Oh, I don't remember. I wander if those two goons were bounty hunters or trackers. We have to loose them nonetheless. What's taking that girl so long?! It's bloody hot outside the forest. _

"Hey there, Lee!" Hana shouted as if on cue. "Sorry if you were waiting long."

"Hn." Lee replied.

Hana ignored Lee's reply and continued, "I brought some water with me. It isn't much, just a mouthful. We're probably not going to be stopping at the river anytime soon."

Lee just stared at the small blob of suspended water in her one hand.

"Don't make me say it, or I really would be treating you like a kid." Hana said playfully. Lee simply opened his mouth as Hana bended the water up towards him.

"Thanks."

"Your welcome." Hana said as she walked up and grabbed the reigns.

"Aren't you going to get on?" Lee asked while not releasing his grip on the reigns.

"No. We need to save the ostrich-horse as much as we can. It might be awhile before arriving at a town. And you are in no condition to walk, so I will. I can lead him while you rest." Lee grudgingly let go of the reigns. He knew that she was right.

Hana began walking northward leading the ostrich-horse. "I didn't see that those earthbenders had any modes of transportation other than walking, and when I went to go get my shoes, Yu was still waiting for the ice to melt. I didn't see Xin Fu in sight. If we keep walking with a few short breaks, then we should be able to put some distance between them and us."

"We haven't eaten anything today, and we don't have any water with us. We can't keep walking forever." Lee said.

"I realize that. Once I feel that we are safe enough to rest for awhile, we'll stop."

Lee murmured, "Hmmph, when you _feel_ like it."

"I'm sorry. Did you say something?" Hana asked.

"No."

"I thought not." Hana said in a slightly angered tone. Lee sent a quick glare at the back of Hana's head. _Boy, this is going to be a looong journey._

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**Well, there you have it. Chapter 10. I hope it was worth the wait. My goodness, this was a difficult chapter to write. It wasn't that I had writer's block or anything like that. It was just that I couldn't get myself to sit down and write. I keep getting plagued by tests, projects, papers, and crazy family parties. Jeez, I need a rest. But there is no rest for the weary, now is there? I am going to make an educated guess about when the next chapter is coming out. I'm guessing after my finals are over and I move back home. So that means middle of May. **

**Peace out!!**

**Yumika**


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar.

Sorry for the delay. This chapter is dedicated to my latest and most prolific reviewer. You know you are. :)

Restoration

Chapter 11

The sun had begun its descent towards the western horizon. However, its rays had not lost any of their intensity, and there were only small wisps of cloud scattered about the sky, to the dismay of the travelers. The travelers had been walking for about an hour or more. Lee couldn't tell. Even though he was wearing his straw hat, Lee could feel that his sweat had permeated into almost every inch of his clothing, and he was feeling a little woozy from this great loss of water. All he knew was that the pain in his chest was the only thing keeping him from falling asleep. Lee wanted to ask for Hana to stop at the river soon, but he was too exhausted to begin a conversation. Hana just kept walking in front of the ostrich-horse as if she were on autopilot. Lee could tell that the heat was sapping Hana's energy as well. For one thing, she had not said a word since they continued their journey north even though the terrain had changed from grassy plains to plains of rocky clay with a few patches of grass, here and there. And for another thing, she was starting to walk slower and almost like she was drunk stumbling along the uneven patches of dirt and rock.

Hana knew that they needed to stop at the river, but she wanted to get as much distance between them and those two earthbenders and anyone else who could be following them. However, for all she knew there could be Fire Nation soldiers or more bounty hunters up ahead. In either case, they needed to stop and rest so that they wouldn't be caught in such a disadvantaged state. She knew that when they stopped it would be for awhile, because healing Lee would take most of her time and strength and they needed to eat something before traveling again. For the hour and half they had been walking at a safe distance alongside the river, she would check both to make sure Lee was still on the ostrich-horse and to see how he was faring with the pain from his injuries. She had not noticed it before but blood had begun to seep through the bandages on his hands. Nonetheless this was the least of her worries compared to the unknown amount of damage of Xin Fu's last attack. At the very least, Lee had a few bruised ribs and luckily none were broken. However, from the pained expressions Lee was making as he held is hand over his left side every time the ostrich-horse swayed from one foot to the other, Hana could tell that Xin Fu might have broken one or two of Lee's ribs. She felt unsure about her decision to walk for so long in the sun, but Lee hadn't protested while they traveled. Because of this, Hana felt that she could bare the burning pain in her muscles and the lightheadedness she was feeling from the loss of water in this dry heat. But now she knew that they needed to take a rest by the river before either of them passed out from heat stroke.

"I think it's safe to say that we have walked long enough to get some distance from those two bounty hunters." Hana said as she gently steered the ostrich-horse towards a sparse group of trees by the riverbank. Lee didn't reply, but Hana wasn't expecting one either. His silent consent was enough that he agreed with her decision.

The coolness from the shade of the trees was almost enough to make Hana feel fully energized once again, but the feeling was fleeting as exhaustion soon returned. She could only imagine how Lee was feeling at the moment. Hana halted the ostrich-horse at the edge of the river. Moving around to the side, she let Lee use her shoulders as support as he dismounted. Even though Lee slide easily off the ostrich-horse's back, Lee grunted in pain as his feet touched the ground. Lee without complaint let Hana lower him to a sitting position by the riverbank.

Lee's and Hana's hands were both too dirty to use for drinking the water by hand from the river even thought they both were dying of thirst. So Hana bended the water up to Lee's cracked lips; Lee opened his mouth without her even having to ask. After giving Lee a few mouthfuls, she drank some water as well. Once they both had taken their fill, Hana turned her attention back to treating Lee's injuries.

"I am going to need to see your chest to treat your injuries, so we are going to have to take off your shirt." Hana said looking undeterred by Lee's angry gaze.

"No, I can take care of that myself" Lee whispered in a threatening tone. At first Hana was taken aback at Lee not shouting, but she quickly realized that it would probably cause more pain to him if he had spoken louder.

"Oh, please let's not start this again. We both know how it ended last time."

"Ya, I took care of it myself."

"Yes, with little bit of my help, of course. Oh, come on, I can easily heal your ribs. If you are as much as a masochist as you're making yourself out to be, I can let you deal with your injuries on your own."

"Did you say that you have healing abilities?"

"Yes, I discovered it when I trying to treat my wounds at the cave."

"Are you telling me that you could have healed my hands instead of giving me that pungent smelling salve since we left that cave?"

"Geez, for being so prideful and independent, you sure complain quite a bit. I'll heal your burned hands, as soon as, you let me heal your other injuries. Now let's get this outer robe off first." Hana said as she went to loosen the frog button closures on Lee's robe, but Lee grabbed her hand as she did so.

"I can take off my robe without your help." Lee replied stubbornly.

"Alright." was Hana's curt reply as she backed off putting her hands up in surrender. _No way of getting to him as soon as he gets into one of his moods._

Hana sat in front of Lee patiently waiting for him to take off his robe. Lee was able to get the frog button closures unfastened while using only his left arm. Hana noticed this and asked, "What's wrong with your right arm?"

"I don't know, but I it hurts to move it. I think I might have torn a muscle or something."

"Here let me see." Hana got up and moved over to Lee's right side and tried to gently feel around the upper arm and shoulder area. When she gently squeezed his arm close to where the arm and shoulder socket join, Lee involuntarily let out a painful yell.

"Aahh, dear Agni that hurt _a lot_. Don't do that again, please." Lee said in a pleading tone.

"Don't worry I won't, but that isn't the least of your worries. Your shoulder is dislocated." Hana said in a grim tone.

"I take it this is going to hurt." Lee said matter-of-factly glancing over at Hana from under his straw hat.

"Well, you can let me know after it's over. I'm going to pop it back in on the count of five."

"Why on the count of five?"

"You're not going to chicken out are you?"

"In your dreams." Lee replied smirking.

"I thought so. One…two…three…four…" A sickening pop sounded.

"Aaahh, dear Agni, you said on the count of five!" Lee said a little irritated as he winced in pain.

"I'm just full of surprises aren't I." Hana said with a smirk as she glanced at Lee and then returned her attention to making sure his arm was set right. "I did that because you were expecting it on five, and I needed you to be relaxed when I popped it back in. Otherwise it would have hurt ten times as much as it did."

"Oh." Lee replied simply.

"Alright let's see how injured your chest is." Hana said as she started to help Lee get out of his outer robe and shirt. The shirt was a bit harder to get off without causing Lee any more pain from his shoulder and ribs. Hana grimaced as she looked at his ribs. Black and blue patches were splattered about the lower chest area. Quickly Hana took the pack off her back and took a blanket out, refolded it neatly, and placed it on the ground.

"Here, Lee, lay back and rest your head on this. It will be easier on both of us if you are lying down. This may take awhile to treat."

"Hn." was Lee's simple reply. He was too tired to protest any further. Hana put her hand behind his back to help him lay down.

_Damn. Lee is pretty banged up. From the bruises I am guessing three bruised ribs, one on his right and two on his left. Who knows how many may be broken. His right shoulder is swollen as well. There must be some fluid trapped, because I didn't get to it soon enough. Why does Lee have to be such a hard…ah whatever, I can't do anything about that now. If he had said something sooner, we would have stopped for a break earlier._

"I need you to lie as still as you can. Let me know if it hurts at any time." Hana said in a serious manner. Lee only gave her a quick nod and closed his eyes.

Hana went right to work. She bended the water around her hands like gloves and held them over Lee's left ribcage. While focusing her chi into her hands, Hana could sense two bruised ribs and to her dismay one of his ribs was broken. She worked on getting the blood to flow more to ease the stiffness of the two bruised ribs. Next, she tried to see if she could stimulate the bone to repair itself, but she found the only thing she could do was stabilize the broken rib. It would have to heal slowly on its own. Hana turned her attention to the other ribcage. She healed three more bruised ribs, but thankfully he didn't have any broken ones on this side. Then Hana moved up to his shoulder. There was fluid surrounding the socket. She increased the blood flow just slightly, broke up the excess fluid, and eased the swelling down.

"Well, you were pretty banged up."

Lee opened his eyes and asked, "What's the damage report?"

"You had five bruised ribs and one broken rib. I healed all the bruised ones, but I couldn't heal the broken one. I guess my healing capabilities are limited. You are going to be sore for awhile from the bruised ribs. We can do another healing session if anything worsens. For the broken one, we are just going to have to wait for it to heal on its own. How does your shoulder feel now?"

"A little sore but other than that it feels great. Could you heal my hands like you promised?"

"Oh, almost forgot. Sure, no problem. You shouldn't have scars for sure when I am done."

Lee sat back up facing Hana. Hana removed the dirty bandages about his hands. Tearing a piece of cloth from her old dress, which by now had been reduced to rags, she wet the cloth and cleaned Lee's hands before she healed them.

"Alright, hold your hands out palms up." Hana instructed Lee to do. He obediently complied. Holding her hands over top his, she closed her eyes and focused her chi once again. After a few minutes, Hana let a sigh of exhaustion escape her as the soft glow of her hands subsided. Lee gave Hana a worried look, but soon looked down at his hands as Hana removed hers.

"There good as new." Hana said beaming at her work. Lee was looking down at his hands a little amazed at her healing abilities. There were no blemishes on his palms, and the skin was flawless like there were never burns to begin with.

"Wow, your healing abilities are amazing without having any previous instruction. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I hate to ruin this moment when you are suddenly being so generous with your gratitude. But we need to rap up your ribs so that the one can heal properly." Hana said as she turned to grab the strips of cloth that she kept in their pack of supplies.

Lee grabbed Hana's arm to get her to turn towards him, and she did looking questioningly back at Lee's unreadable, golden eyes. "I really am thankful for what you did and have done. You could have told those bounty hunters back there about me and my uncle to get yourself off the hook, but you didn't. And I appreciate that."

"Wow, the sun must have really gotten to you. You sure you don't have a fever." Hana said in a mockingly serious tone as she held her hand up to Lee's forehead as if she was going to check his temperature. As she did this, the sleeve of her robe fell down below her wrist. Lee caught sight of something that looked like a tattoo on Hana's wrist. He grabbed her wrist as Hana was drawing back her hand. Lee forcefully upturned Hana's wrist to get better look at the markings on the inside of her wrist. Hana winced in discomfort as Lee did this.

"What is this?" Lee said taking a closer look at the tattoo. There was a marking shaped like a crescent moon, which ran along the length of the wrist, while a full circle lay in the cradle of the crescent moon-shaped marking. "This looks like a tattoo of the watertribe. Is that where you are from?" _That would explain her skin color. It may not be as dark as that watertribe peasant girl's skin, but it's darker than that of the people of the Earth Kingdom and the Fire Nation for that matter._

"No, I used to live in a small Earth Kingdom village before the Fire Nation came for me." Hana said timidly while not understanding why Lee would be so interested in knowing if she was from a watertribe.

"Yes, but are you from the Northern or Southern watertribe?"

"No. Not that I am aware of." Hana replied. Lee could tell that she was telling the truth, because her eyes seemed confused by his line of questioning, and she didn't seem suspicious of his questions. So she didn't seemed threatened enough to lie. _She must be adopted because I have not come across a person in either the Earth Kingdom or the Fire Nation with skin as dark as her's or her unusual hazel colored eyes. Her hair closely resembles Azula's friend Ty Lee's. But she can bend both water and air. Damn, this is infuriating._

While releasing Hana's wrist from his grip, Lee apologized, "Sorry, I was just curious about where you were from, and when I saw this tattoo I…"

"That's ok. Forget it." Hana said hastily while rubbing the part of her arm that Lee had gripped. She rose from the ground abruptly and walked over to the ostrich horse, which was gingerly drinking from the river.

Without turning around to face Lee, Hana said, "There are strips of cloth amongst the supplies, which we have. Help yourself to them. If you need more feel free to tear more strips of cloth for yourself." Hana stopped running her hand back and forth through the ostrich-horse's fury neck and sat down on the ground proceeding to take off her leather shoes.

"What are you going to do?" Lee asked.

"_I_ am going to find us some lunch." Hana said in an even tone as she took the sheath from her waist and strapped it to her back. Then she got into the river water. "I recommend that you rest while I'm gone, of course, after you're done taking care of your injury."

Lee kept watching Hana has she waded past him through the waist high water, wondering why she seemed a little…subdued. He shook it off and went back to taking care of binding his lower chest.

To say the least, Hana's curiosity was growing by the second after that unexpected line of questioning from Lee. _ Why is he so interested in finding out what my heritage is? How could it matter now? This just doesn't make any sense right now. What do my tattoos have to do with anything? I have had these ever since I could remember. _Hana thought this as she looked down at her wrists which bore identical tattoos. _It worries me that he would be concerned about something as trivial as that. But maybe these mean something important to him. I sure don't know what they represent. If he had asked it like a conversational question, then I wouldn't be worried. But he asked those questions like it determined if he wanted to be around me or not. Why would it make a difference for him to know what group of people I belong to? I just don't get it. If he ran away from the Fire Nation, then he would be seeking refuge among the other nations and apparently the Earth Kingdom. I have already proven that I wouldn't betray him even though he is a firebender. He seemed to be concerned more about me being from one of the watertribes. What has the watertribe done to him? It was almost like he was going to accuse me of something horrible if I told him that I was from the watertribe. Well, not much I can do about it now. Darn, why did this have to happen? He was beginning to loosen up around me. At least enough, so that he was able to thank me for all I have done for him. _

Hana's concentration was broken when she felt something brush against her pant leg. Looking down, she saw something that looked black, slender, and…long. She held a scream in, which was trying to make its way up her throat. The creature didn't seem to be content in swimming past her as it turned around and came back towards her. Hana tried to stay calm, but her heart was ready to leap out of her chest, on account of beating so hard within her. Quickly, she unsheathed the sword and gripped it tightly in her hands. Slowly, she began to move away from the creature swimming lazily towards her. Hana separated the sword into two preparing to attack the creature if it came too close. She reached the riverbank and hastily got out of the water. Hana walked backwards from the river with her heart beating faster and harder than before. A black, shiny snake-like head peeped out of the water looking side to side. Next two legs appeared with feet and long slender toes. These were followed by a long slender midsection, another pair of matching legs, and a long tail. The creature measured about three feet in length from head to tail. Its tongue whipped out and quickly retreated tasting the surrounding air. Directing its yellow, beady-eye gaze towards Hana, the salamander-like creature hastened its pace anticipating the meal that waited. But Hana made different plans.

As soon as he heard a sword being unsheathed, Lee looked up river to find Hana standing perfectly still as if waiting for something. He laughed to himself. _Maybe she found a new way to fish. _But he began to think otherwise when Hana started to back away from something, which she was staring at in front of her. He watched as she separated the sword into two dueling blades. Lee became more confused when Hana continued to back away while getting out of the river and walking backwards away from the riverbank, not breaking her gaze for a moment. As something big and black came out of the river, all Lee could think of was _holy !#_.

There was no time for hesitation or a shriek. Within seconds Hana reacted to the animal charging towards her. As Hana backed away keeping barely out of reach of the reptile's barred fangs, she swung one sword to one side but missed the neck by an inch. Holding the blades crisscross and pointing downwards, she pulled the swords across each other snipping the head cleanly from the rest of the deadly creature's body. The body fell limp to the ground, and the head lay with its mouth still open showing the fangs dripping with venom. Hana stood in shock; her chest heaving as she breathed heavily. But she was not satisfied with only decapitating the reptile. Hana flipped the sword in her left hand and jabbed it through the head just to make sure. She held on to the other sword in her right hand, now with both hands, as if her life depended on it. Suddenly she felt a hand gently grip her arm. Breaking her gaze from the creature she noticed Lee standing next to her.

"It's dead, Hana. You killed it." Lee said calmly keeping eye contact with Hana.

Hana didn't seem to believe Lee as she shifted her frightened gaze back to the creature lying still in two parts. Lee used his other hand to take hold of the sword, which Hana was grasping in a death grip.

"Give me the sword, Hana." Lee said gently. Hana kept her eyes on the animal as she shook her head 'no'.

"It's dead, Hana." Lee repeated. "You can let go now." Lee said this without realizing the full weight of his words.

Hana released the sword to Lee. He took it and in turn jabbed the blade into the body while never loosing his hold on Hana's arm.

"See it's not going anywhere." Lee said lightheartedly.

That is when Hana broke down. She never tore her terrified gaze from the head of the deadly reptile. Her body began to shake uncontrollably, and her legs gave way to her weight. Lee tried to keep her standing by grabbing onto her other arm, but he ended up dropping to the ground with Hana.

"Whoa. It's alright. You are not hurt, are you?" Lee asked a little worried.

Hana finally looked back at Lee and spoke a soft, shaky, "No." But that didn't stop her trembling. Lee saw tears beginning to run down her flushed cheeks. Hana slowly closed her eyes.

"I…I…I thought. I thought that it was going to… and I wasn't going to able to kill it in time." Hana said softly while still shaking like a leaf. Then she did something which Lee was not expecting. She grasped onto his arms and pulled him into a hug. Now it was Lee's turn to be in shock. Hana seemed to let go entirely at that point sobbing freely on Lee's shoulder. Lee knew that he could not push her away in the state she was in. He had to calm her down first, so if hugging back would do the trick, then so be it. A few second of torture, he could deal with that.

"But you did kill it. And now we have something to eat." Lee said trying to cheer Hana up. It seemed to be working as Hana's body stopped trembling, and he didn't feel anymore warm tears fall onto his shoulder.

It's edible, right?" Lee asked warily.

Hana lifted her head off his shoulder and faced Lee saying, "Yes.", and she giggled at Lee's ignorance. "They taste rather good too. You've never seen an anamander before?" Lee shook his head. Hana continued sounding calmer, "I have, but never this close. I can never get used to how scary looking they are. I have heard that they can grow up to be five to six feet long. So, this one is still a youngling."

Lee helped Hana stand back up, and pulled the swords out and connected the swords to form one.

"Do you want the head as a trophy?" Lee said with a smirk.

"No, that's quite alright. The memory is enough for me."

"Do you want to carry the sword and I'll carry the _prize_?"

"Alright." Hana replied half giggling.

An anamander is a fictitious reptile imagined by yours truly. Think of it as a cross between an anaconda and a salamander. Creepy, huh?

If you still think that Hana's reaction was not justified, then please realize all the stuff she has gone through. Wouldn't a fierce bending battle, an hour walk in the blazing sun, and an empty stomach put you on the edge? You already know my response. If you want to leave yours feel free.


End file.
